


A New Beginning

by OrangeRat81



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Death, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, LGBTQ Themes, Multi, Teen Romance, Underage Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-08
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-06-07 11:48:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 9
Words: 33,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15218507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OrangeRat81/pseuds/OrangeRat81
Summary: What if Max didn't leave Chloe to move to Seattle right after her father died? What if Chloe had her best friend there when she needed her most? Rated M for language and content





	1. Chapter 1

_We've decided not to go to Seattle. I called my boss and told him what happened. He said that if I couldn't make it out by the end of the week, they'd have to offer the position to someone else._

Max hugged her arms across her chest and felt numb…cold…like she was standing there, but…not.

_The house is sold already, so I guess we'll be staying at a hotel for a while until we can find another one. I just felt like it wouldn't be right; I mean, Joyce just lost her husband and…Chloe is apparently having some trouble fitting in at the new school. I think…I think our place is here._

Max looked at Chloe standing there, hugging her mother and crying into her black dress. Her father's hand was resting gently on her shoulder, while Chloe's father…

_Chloe needs a friend now more than ever, Max. I can't imagine what she must be going through. Be there for her, Max. Your mother and I need some time to get things sorted out anyway, so…you'll be staying with the Price's…um…I mean, with Joyce and Chloe for a few days._

Max's father's words echoed in her head and she willed her legs to move, her feet shuffling softly through the wet grass. She found herself standing beside Chloe, still clutching tightly to her mother.

"Hey Chloe." Max said softly "I…uh…I wanted to say…"

Chloe looked up from her mother's dress and saw Max standing beside her. Without a word, she swung around and wrapped her arms tightly around Max neck, sobbing loudly on her shoulder. Max felt the tears stream anew down her cheeks; she wrapped her arms around Chloe's back and held her tightly. She didn't know what to do, what else that could be said. Nothing else mattered.

Nothing but Chloe that is. Despite the circumstances, she found herself smiling slightly through her tears at the idea that she'd be staying after all; that she could be there for Chloe like she always had. This, though, would be the toughest thing they'd ever been through. In the pocket of her dress, she had a tape that she was going to leave for Chloe before she left for Seattle. Now that she wasn't, it wasn't necessary…but the words on it, and the feelings they expressed, were still felt just as truly to Max. And she would tell them to her, now that she  **could**  tell them to her.

_Eventually. We have time now. We have all the time in the world._

She held Chloe, and Chloe held her, for the rest of the funeral. As the coffin descended slowly into the ground, Max stared ahead grimly and coldly; warmed only by the growing wet stain on the shoulder of her dress and the tight grasp of Chloe's arms around her. Joyce Price put her arm around the two of them and hugged them both.

"We'll give you a call in a few days, Max. Let us know if you need anything."

After the funeral, Max's parents spoke to her, then exchanged words with Chloe's mother as Max walked with Chloe to Joyce's car. Max walked slowly beside Chloe, who had stopped crying and now seemed to look ahead expressionless.

"So…I wanted to say…" Max started, trying to fill the silence between them, "I wanted to say that… I'm so, so sorry, Chloe. I can't imagine what you're going through."

"Thank you." Chloe rasped in a monotone, shuffling ahead with red-rimmed eyes, "Thank you, Max."

"My parents aren't moving to Seattle now, and I'll be staying with you and your mom for a little while. So, if you wanted to talk or whatever… I'll be here." Max stopped walking and hugged Chloe. She thought of the tape in her pocket and the words she had recorded when she thought she wasn't going to see Chloe again. "You're my best friend, Chloe. I love you."

"I love you too, Max." Chloe whispered before buying her face in Max's shoulder and beginning to cry again.

Chloe's mother found them like that a few minutes later and gently ushered them the rest of the way toward the car.

Following an awkward wake where Chloe numbly shook the hands of family and friends, most of whom Max didn't know and Chloe clearly had no interest in seeing, the three of them returned to the Price home.

To Max, the home that she spent so many happy times in had never seemed so cold, so empty…

_So damn quiet…_

"Girls, you go upstairs and get ready for bed. I have some phone calls to make."

Chloe gave her mother a small, sad smile and nodded. The look of pain and sorrow on Chloe's face made Max's heart ache terribly. Max wanted to give Chloe the biggest, tightest hug ever, or do  **anything**  that would take away some of her pain.

Max reached out and took Chloe's hand. She didn't know what to say, so she hoped this gesture spoke where words didn't. It did, as Chloe turned to look at Max and she could feel Chloe's hand squeeze hers. Chloe's eyes glistened for a moment and tears once again began falling down her cheeks, but Max saw a smile on her face. Max knew exactly what she was thinking and she smiled back and nodded.

"I am too." She whispered to Chloe.

As soon as they were up in her room, Chloe closed and locked the door then lifted her black dress up and over her head.

"I fucking hate dresses." Chloe muttered.

Max blushed and her eyes opened wide in surprise, both because of the language and also because Chloe was standing in front of her in her bra and underwear. Chloe didn't seem to notice Max's reaction, though. She went over to her bed and collapsed down on it, letting out an audible sigh and then turning onto her side.

There was an overnight bag of Max's things that had been left in Chloe's room along with a sleeping bag, so Max went over and unzipped it, pulling out a T-shirt and some shorts to wear to bed. She removed her own dress more neatly than Chloe had and folded it back into her bag.

"Soo…are you going to brush your teeth?" Max asked, slipping quickly into her clothes.

After a pause, Chloe shook her head.

Max bit her lip, "Are you…going to put on your pajamas?"

Chloe let out a sigh and, with a sniffle, said softly, "Maybe in a bit."

Max undid her ponytail and put her hair tie in a small pocket of her bag. She looked up at Chloe who hadn't moved, and said hesitantly, "So… I'm going to go to the bathroom."

Chloe turned her head to look at Max. Her eyes and cheeks glistened wet, "Why are you telling me, Max?"

Max shrugged, "I dunno. I just…wanted you to know that I was leaving the room for a bit. "

Chloe blinked and and wiped her wrist across her face as she sat up, "Why?"

"Why am I leaving the room? Or…"

Chloe half -laughed and half-coughed, "Why are you being so weird, Max? Just go to the damn washroom!"

Max was going to respond, but decided to not push the issue. She walked over to the door and opened it softly, looking back over her shoulder before she went to see Chloe now sitting up and staring at a photo album from her shelf. She bit her lip before slipping out the door and closing it behind her.

As she brushed her teeth, she tried to make sense of the past few days. One second, she was playing pirates and trying to figure out how to tell Chloe that she was leaving Arcadia Bay, and her, in a matter of days; the next second, she was watching Chloe collapsing into her mother's arms as her whole world was destroyed. Now, she was staying in Arcadia Bay, at least for now, and her best friend – her only friend really – was a wreck.

_How do you go from searching for buried treasure to dealing with the most adult thing ever in just a few hours?_

As long as she lived, she would never forget the look on Chloe's face when they told her. She didn't even think it was possible to show that much pain in one look. Just thinking about it again made Max begin to tear up, and she quickly sniffed back her tears and wiped her face on Chloe's pirate towel.

When Max went back into the bedroom, Chloe had put on a simple white t-shirt and was still sitting on the edge of the bed; but instead of the photo album, she was holding something else. Max could also see that she'd been crying again.

"Max, what's this?"

"What's what?" Max asked, walking closer until she could see what Chloe was holding out to her and she could feel her heart sink into her feet.

Chloe held out a cassette to Max, the label had "I'm sorry" written on it in pen. "I was over by there and saw this tape sitting by your bag. Is it yours?"

Max clasped her hands in front of her and nodded, her eyes looking down.

"What's on it? What are you sorry about?"

Max sighed. She wished she had thrown it out, but between the funeral and the wake she hadn't even thought much of it. She could also lie and say it was nothing…

_No, I can't lie to Chloe._

She looked up again and saw Chloe sitting and looking at her curiously, her face streaked red with smeared tears. Here was her best friend, Chloe Price, holding in her hands what was supposed to be her final words to her before leaving until how knows how long? She poked fun at her all the time…but the truth was that she loved Chloe. She was more than just her best friend; she was…so much more than that.

"I was supposed to leave the same day as your father's funeral. My father was supposed to start his new job in a few days and we were supposed to go. I…didn't know if I'd get a chance to talk to you before, and…I thought I wouldn't be able to say what I wanted to say before I left. And…I didn't know when I'd ever see you again." Max said slowly, carefully, trying unsuccessfully to hold back her tears before failing in the end.

She wiped her eyes and struggled through, "I…I needed to tell you some things. In case…In case…" Max put her hands on her face and, despite trying to will herself to be strong, she just couldn't.

She wiped her hands repeatedly across her face and felt Chloe reach out and hug her, "In case you didn't see me again? In case…you never saw me again?"

Max sniffled and nodded.

_Get it together, Caulfield!_

"Chloe, even if I had left…I would  **never** let us not keep in touch." Max said pulling herself together and pulling away to look at Chloe gravely.

Chloe looked at the tape in her hands, and then threw it into the cardboard box of stuff to throw out that was still in her room. "I don't need a tape, when I have my best friend." Chloe said, offering a smile to Max.

Max nodded, smiling back.

There was a knock at the door, and the voice of Joyce Price said, "Girls, I know today was really hard but you two should still try to get some sleep. You two can take a few days off school if you want to, and I'll be taking tomorrow off work so maybe we can all do something if you want."

The two of them waited for the sound of footsteps walking away before turning to each other again.

"Well…" Max started, "I guess we probably should try to sleep."

Chloe bit her lip in thought and nodded, "I guess. It's kind of like this is a sleepover…but different."

Max stood up and walked over to turn off the light. The green glow from Glowy Bear was the only illumination as Max made her way over to the sleeping bag on the floor beside Chloe's bed.

"Night, Chloe."

"Night, Max."

Max found it difficult to go to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she could see Chloe's look of anguish, or the coffin at the cemetery, or tears flowing down Chloe's face. William wasn't her father, but she'd grown close to him over the years so his death hurt Max more profoundly than she expected. She didn't want to take away from Chloe's pain, though, and thought it would be selfish to bring it up.

"Max? Are you asleep?"

Max turned her head, "No."

She heard choked sobs begin to come from Chloe's bed, "Max…"

Max sat up, "Yeah?"

Chloe sniffled and whispered, "Can you cuddle me?"

Max didn't even pause, opening up the sleeping bag and climbing into bed beside Chloe. The blonde girl turned to face Max and buried her face in Max's chest. "Why'd he have to die, Max?"

Max wrapped her arms around Chloe and hugged her tightly, rubbing her back with one hand like her mother would often do to her when she was upset or not feeling well. "I don't know."

Max thought about the tape and the thought that she might not have been here while Chloe was going through this; that the tape might well have been the last time Chloe heard her voice for who-knows how long.

"Chloe?"

"Mmhm?"

"I love you."

Chloe pulled her head away from Max's chest and looked at her with eyes filled with pain, "I love you too, Max."

The two girls held each other close until they both fell asleep in each other's arms.


	2. Chapter 2

That night, Max dreamt that she was standing with Chloe at the cemetery, staring at William's grave. Only they weren't wearing black dresses; they were wearing pirate clothes. Suddenly, her father was there beside her. He was wearing a ski jacket, winter boots, and a winter beanie.

"Come on, Max! It's time to move to Seattle! You're going to have so much fun skiing and snowboarding and hiking and swimming! You're going to meet new friends and you won't need to ever think about Chloe again!"

Max looked at Chloe and she remained staring ahead like she couldn't hear what he was saying. "No! I don't want to go!" she said to him, beginning to cry, "I want to stay here; I want to stay with Chloe!"

"Let's go, Max; it's time to stop playing pirates and grow up. Don't you want to take pictures in Seattle? Chloe doesn't need you anymore." Max's father said, stepping closer to her and taking her hand.

"No! Chloe  **does** need me! And I need her!" she said plaintively, however her feet seemed to move of their own volition and she allowed her father to lead her away from Chloe and toward a car filled with suitcases.

Suddenly, she wasn't wearing pirate clothes anymore; she was wearing a grey sweatshirt with "University of Seattle" written on it and carrying a school bag. "It's time to grow up, Max," her father said, continuing to lead her to the car, "It's time to grow up and leave Chloe."

She turned back and saw Chloe was looking at her now. She was calling her name, but it sounded so far away. "I don't  **want**  to leave Chloe! I  **love**  Chloe!" she said, and suddenly she was in the back of the car driving away and watching Chloe get smaller and smaller from the rear window. Her voice continued to call in her head.

"Max? Max?"

Max woke up with a start to see Chloe with a hand on her shoulder, gently shaking her. "Max?

Max looked around and saw that it was still dark. The room continued to be lit only by the pale green light from Glowy Bear. Her eyes fell on Chloe who was looking at her with concern. "Chloe? Oh…Chloe!" Max took Chloe into a hug, "I dreamt I was leaving!"

Chloe said nothing; she just hugged Max and patted her back gently. Eventually, Max pulled away and tried to smile, "I'm sorry. I hate bad dreams. And this one…well, it doesn't matter. How are you? I'm sorry if I woke you up."

Chloe shrugged, "You didn't. I've been up for a while; I don't know if I ever really slept. I mean, I'm tired but I just have a lot on my mind."

Max bit her lip in concern and empathetic pain, her nightmare forgotten for the moment. "You wanna talk about it, Chloe?"

Chloe sighed and her eyes welled up again. She took one of Max's hands and squeezed it, then sniffled and rasped, "I dunno, Max. I just…can't believe this is happening. It feels like a terrible dream that I can't wake up from. I had a grandma that got sick when I was really little and then one day mom said she died. I used to think it must suck to have someone you care about die when they have, like, cancer or something. You know? To see them go, and not be able to do anything about it. But…man…" Chloe turned away from Max but kept holding her hand, "I can't believe my dad is gone. All because my mom couldn't just take a fucking taxi home!"

Chloe held her hand as her shoulders began to shake as she cried again. Max was fully awake now and she sat up beside Chloe. The hand that wasn't being held touched Chloe's shoulder. "You shouldn't blame her, Chloe. It's not like she knew that would happen; nobody knows those sorts of things will until they do. Life…well, life really blows sometimes. "

Chloe turned to look at Max. Her look was one of anger, frustration, and sadness as tears fell down her cheeks and shone in the dim light. Her face softened somewhat when she saw Max's concern. "I…I know. It's not logical to blame my mother for something she had no control over. It's just so unfair! I feel…I dunno, like screaming or punching something or…God, this fucking sucks, Max!"

"I know, Chloe. I mean, I don't know what you're feeling because I can't know. But I know that it sucks. It must, because of what happened. But…I don't know what I'm saying. I'm sorry."

Chloe's face broke out into a sad smile and she hugged Max, "Oh my gosh, Caulfield! You're such a dweeb!"

"Umm…thanks…I think?"

"Shut up! I'm just…so glad you're here, Max. I couldn't imagine doing this without my best friend."

"I'm glad I'm here too. I didn't want to leave you. Especially not like this. "

"Then don't leave! Stay in Arcadia Bay, and when we're older we can move in together and be roommates! We will be Chloe Price and Max Caulfield, together forever!"

Max smiled and wiped Chloe's tears and strands of hair away from her face with her fingers. She was filled with a myriad of emotions: relief that she was here with Chloe, a concern that her father might change his mind and move away after all, intense sadness at the situation that Chloe was now facing, and love – pure and honest love – for her and for the bond they shared. The thought of being apart from her…she didn't even want to think about it. Max knew that she would give anything to make Chloe smile again.

"Aaanyway, enough mushy stuff for now." Chloe said, laying back down again, "Mom probably has something dopey planned for the morning so we should probably get some sleep." Chloe took Max's hand and pulled her arm over her. Max got the hint and gladly pulled Chloe toward her.

"I'd still like to know what was on that tape, you know," Chloe said with a yawn.

"Eventually." She mumbled as she fell back to sleep, her face buried in Chloe's shoulder.

Joyce Price woke them up a few hours later for breakfast, and neither of them felt rested at all. As Chloe and Max tiredly picked at the food, Joyce sat between them at the table and smiled at both of them. She looked as tired as Max felt, and her eyes looked bloodshot from more than just exhaustion.

"I was thinking," Joyce said, "I think I speak for all three of us, given how you girls look this morning, that we could use a night out of the house. I said I'd go back to the diner on Monday morning, not that I have a choice with all these bills to pay; and Chloe, as difficult as it is, you need to get back to class. And I promised Ryan and Vanessa that Max would go back to school too. Now, I can't afford much, but we could maybe do a night at the Holiday Inn out by the airport? Just one more night before...dealing with some of this."

"Can Max and I have our own room?" Chloe asked, looking at her mother pleadingly.

Joyce nodded with a smile, "I'm sure that's what Max wants too." Max smiled in approval. "And Lord knows you need your friend now more than ever."

"Can we order room service?"

"I guess…" Joyce said hesitantly, "As long as it isn't too expensive."

"Cool," Chloe said, shooting a sly wink at Max. Max giggled at her expression, unable to imagine what Chloe was thinking but happy that she seemed in a better mood.

When it became clear that Max and Chloe were done, Joyce took the plates away and both girls went upstairs to pack an overnight bag while the arrangements were made. Max already had a bag mostly packed, so she just had to throw in a toothbrush and some other things. Chloe, however, grabbed a bag out of a pile in her closet and tossed it on the bed, then started throwing articles of clothes at it. Max sat on the bed beside Chloe's bag and caught shirts, pants, and underwear as they flew through the air.

"So...how are you doing?"

Without pausing her launching of clothes across the room, Chloe said, "Like I've been punched in my stomach."

"Oh," Max said, looking down so a pair of socks hit her in the head. She picked them up off the floor and put them in Chloe's bag.

Chloe closed the drawer and went over to the bed; she moved stuff around the bag and zipped it closed. "But...I mean, mom is really trying. I heard her crying in her room last night. So...I guess I'll try too. It'll be fun to spend the night in a hotel room with you. There are too many pictures and...things that make me upset.

Max sighed, "I'm so sorry, Chloe. What you and your mom are going through...I wish I could do more."

Chloe slid to the edge of the bed and sat beside Max. The taller girl put an arm around her and pulled Max against her. "Having you here is enough, Max. You were supposed to be gone by now...and all I'd have of you is a tape." She looked over at the box she tossed the tape in.

Max followed her eyes and grimaced, "You still want to know what's on the tape, huh?"

"It doesn't matter, I guess. I'm just curious because it's like a mystery that my brain is trying to figure out."

Max shrugged, "It's really not that good a mystery."

The two girls sat in the hotel lobby while Chloe's mother booked their room. Chloe brought some makeup with her, and while they waited she painted Max's nails.

"Hey Max, remember that time we decided to give each other makeovers when we were, like, six and you let me paint your nails?" Chloe laughed.

Max smiled at her, reminiscing, "Yeah, you took all of your mother's nail polish and decided you were going to paint each nail a different color! I think you got more on my fingers than my nails!"

"And then you didn't wait for it to dry and ran around leaving stains all over my house in, like, every color!" Chloe said with a smirk, putting her supplies back in her bag and waving her hands over Max's nails.

"That's only because you told me you wanted to play hide and seek, and I had ten seconds to find a place to hide!" Max countered.

Chloe shook her head "Nya uh! You were the one that said you were going to hide and I had ten seconds to find you!"

"Oh, whatever!"

"I think your brain is just broken, Caulfield!"

"Chloe!" Joyce said, turning around with a harsh expression, "Keep your voice down, please!"

Chloe rolled her eyes at her mother and then took Max's hands and inspected them. "I think  **this time**  they are dry. And look pretty good, actually."

Max stuck her tongue out at Chloe and looked at her nails. They had been painted light blue, and on each finger of her left hand a small letter was painted in red; from her pinkie to her thumb, they spelled out "CHLOE".

Moving her face closer to Max's hand, she squinted at the nails, "I think I frigged up the C a bit, but your pinkie nail is really small so it was hard to draw on."

"Why'd you write your name on my nails?" Max asked with a smirk.

Chloe shrugged, "I dunno. I guess I just felt like writing my name on you."

Max smiled at this, "Like...I'm your property?"

The pale skin on Chloe's cheeks turned rose-colored and she looked up at the ceiling, "Damn, Max...when you say it like that, it sounds weird."

A short time later, they were both sitting on the cushiony bed of the hotel room they were sharing. Joyce had laid out the ground rules for them before she left to go to her own room several doors down: No loud noise, no staying up all night, and no making a mess of the room.

"This is cool!" Chloe said, looking around with wonder, "It's like we have our own apartment!"

Max nodded, "Totally! So, what do you want to do now? I think the hotel has a pool and a hot tub."

Chloe catapulted herself back on the bed and spread her arms out, "Nah, they're probably filled with screaming kids and gross old people!"

Max looked thoughtful, "Okay, well we could...um...see if there's a movie on the TV?"

Chloe sat up and grinned at Max, "We could see if there's porn!"

Max scrunched her nose in disgust, "Eww! Chloe, that's...eww...no!"

"Aww, Caulfield, you're no fun!" Chloe said, falling back on the bed and crossing her arms over her chest in exaggerated disappointment.

"Yeah, well it won't be very fun trying to explain  **that**  to your mom when it shows up on the bill tomorrow!" Max said with a smirk.

"Whatever, nerd." Chloe said, sliding off the bed and standing beside Max, "Hey, I have an idea! Let's go exploring!"

"Exploring?"

"Why not? There's bound to be some cool stuff around here!" Chloe grinned and headed out the door.

Max followed her, grabbing the room key off the desk on their way out. She raced after Chloe down the carpeted hallways, as they peered in through any open door and checked out any empty room Chloe could find. A few times, Max and Chloe found themselves racing away giggling madly after having popped their heads into some room or opening some door, and surprising a housekeeper or another staff member of the hotel.

Eventually, they found themselves in an area of the hotel that opened up into an atrium and had several large ballrooms branching off from it. Two of the rooms were empty, but a sign standing in front of a third read, "Goldenberg Bar Mitzvah 9pm-2am" and the room was filled with tables with cloth tablecloths on them and lots of balloons.

"Me thinks Captain Bluebeard has found treasure!" Chloe said in her pirate's voice.

Max laughed, "What's Captain Bluebeard going to do with a tablecloth?"

Chloe crept closer to the open door to the ballroom and pointed her finger at something inside. " 'Tis not mere tablecloths we're after, my dear Long Max Silver! I have spied a veritable wealth of pirate booty!"

Max tried to follow where Chloe was pointing, but all she could see was tables and food stations being set up by hotel staff. "I don't see any booty, Captain."

"It's thar!" Chloe pointed again.

"Thar?"

"There, Max, you dope! At the bar!" Chloe pointed with a motion of her head for emphasis.

Max looked again and saw one of the hotel staff setting bottles and glasses from a trolley onto the shelves of a small bar being set up. "You mean...the alcohol?"

Chloe grinned and raised her blonde eyebrows suggestively. Max felt herself growing nervous, and put her hand on Chloe's arm, "Oh, Chloe...I don't know. If we get caught stealing, your mom…"

"I'm not going to get caught, Max! I promise!"

Max squeezed Chloe's arm a little tighter, "I really don't think it's a good idea, Chloe."

Chloe looked at Max's hand squeezing her arm, then looked up and met Max's eyes. She frowned and let out a sigh, "You're right, Max. I just...thought it might be fun to see if I could. It was a dumb idea."

Chloe turned to go and Max let go of her arm. As she did, she noticed the red letters painted on the nails of her hand and stopped walking.

_For fuck's sake…_

"Wait, Chloe…" Max said, hesitantly.

Chloe turned around, "Hmm?"

Max closed her eyes and, shaking her head in disbelief, she opened them again and chewed on her lip nervously. "Chloe...are you  **positive**  you won't get caught?"

The blonde girl's face broke out into a wide grin, "One million percent! But you need to keep a lookout over here."

Max nodded, "Yeah, okay. Just please...hurry up!"

Chloe winked at Max, "Captain Bluebeard moves as fast and quietly as the wind!"

Max rolled her eyes at Chloe, but couldn't keep herself from smiling, "You're so full of shit, Chloe!"

"Maybe I am." Chloe whispered as she skulked into the ballroom, hugging close to the wall, "But I'm also going to be full of rum!"

Max shook her head with a nervous giggle, and leaned against the wall, looking back and forth and listening for approaching footsteps.

_Why do I let Chloe keep talking me into these silly schemes of hers?_

After what seemed like forever, Max heard the rapid padding of feet from the ballroom. She turned her head to see Chloe racing past her, hunched over slightly with a visible lump underneath her shirt. Max quickly looked inside and didn't see any sign of alarm or anybody doing anything unusual, so she quickly followed the blonde blur down the hallway where she didn't slow down until they were in front of their room door.

"You should have seen me, Max! I was a fucking ghost!" Chloe said once she'd caught her breath, "Quickly! Open the door!"

Max shakily got the room key in and opened the door; only when the door closed behind them did Chloe pull a bottle of spiced rum out from under her shirt and present it proudly to Max. "See, I told you I could do it!"

Max examined the bottle carefully, "Yeah, you did. I just hope nobody saw you and reported us."

"Don't worry!" Chloe said, grabbing two glasses from the bathroom, "Like I told you, I'm a ghost!"

Max handed the bottle back to Chloe, "A little while ago you were a pirate?"

"I'm a ghost pirate! Boo!" Chloe said, waving her fingers in the air.

"Super scary ghost pirate." Max said, with a smile, "So, should we order supper?"

"Yes!" Chloe declared, "But first, a toast to a successful heist!" She filled both glasses halfway with the brown liquid and handed one to Max. Max looked at her glass cautiously; it smelled strongly of cinnamon and other spices Max couldn't place. She wrinkled her nose and looked at Chloe who had extended her glass toward her with a large grin.

"A toast to the coolest, most awesome duo in Arcadia Bay...no, in the entire world! To Chloe Price…" she clinked her glass against Max's, "and Maxine Caulfield!"

"Max." Max corrected.

Chloe took a large drink from her glass and cringed. "Nice." Chloe coughed.

Max took a sip from her own glass and shuddered; it wasn't bad, but Max doubted she could be a pirate after all if they drank this sort of thing all the time.

Chloe finished off the rest of rum in her glass and licked her lips with a pensive look. "This would probably taste way better with Coke. We should order some with supper."

By the time room service came to the door, Chloe was in no condition to answer it if she even heard the knock at all. Max had worriedly suggested she should slow down, she should wait for the Coke to arrive, and even that she should save some for Max - even though she hadn't drunk anymore since that initial sip. Chloe had waved her off, insisting that she had to make more toasts. By the time she had offered a toast to 'that one busboy at the Two Whales that I always had a crush on' she was laying on the floor, alternating between laughing to herself and trying to think up different nicknames for Max. Max had brought the food in, along with the Coke Chloe had requested, and lay it down beside the television before sitting on the floor next to Chloe.

She was terrified at the thought that Joyce would come check on them and find Chloe this way, and then she'd have to admit that she was the one that let Chloe drink - given the state of the bottle that she'd finally managed to take out of Chloe's reach and put up on the desk - three-quarters of a bottle of rum; rum that, she was painfully aware, she'd let Chloe steal, she would be forced to admit.

_God, why did I let this happen? I'm a terrible friend!_

"Maxi pad! Maxi bucks! Maximus Prime!"

Max looked down at Chloe lying on her back on the carpet; Chloe looked up at Max with a goofy grin and glazed eyes.

"Oh, Chloe…" Max said, with a smirk, brushed the hair away from her friend's face.

"Hey, Max! Hey, I just...just realized that I forgot to toast somebody!"

"Oh?"

Chloe struggled to a sitting position, before falling backward again. She turned to Max, "I forgot to toast my dad, Max! Bloody Bill! He was...he...he died, Max."

Max nodded, sadness filling her again, and frowned down at Chloe. "I know."

The goofy grin on Chloe's face was gone, "He...he let try rum before. I don't...think I liked it. I don't remember."

Max nodded and moved some more hair off of Chloe's face. Chloe flinched but didn't move away.

"He made breakfast for us whenever you slept over. He...he always said that I was lucky to have such a good friend."

Max smiled, but it was a sad smile and she struggled to keep it on her face. She lay down on the floor beside Chloe and looked at her. "I think he just liked me because I laughed at his jokes and drooled over his camera."

Chloe turned her head to look at Max, "Nawwww! He liked you because I liked you! He wanted me to be...be happy, and he knew...that you made me happy."

Max reached down and took Chloe's hand, "You make me happy too, Chloe. Except...um...when you get drunk and lie on the floor."

"If I make you happy...then...why were going to leave?"

Max rolled her eyes, "I mean...it's not like I had a choice! My dad got a job in Seattle...and besides, I'm not leaving anymore. I don't think I am, anyway."

Chloe's glazed eyes started to shine more as tears began sliding down her cheek, "Everybody I love leaves me, Max!"

Chloe turned over on her side, facing away from Max, and began to cry harder. The sight caused Max's heart to break, and she put her hand on Chloe's shoulder, "Chloe..."

Chloe sat up slowly and looked at Max. "What?"

Max sighed and took Chloe's hand in hers - the one with Chloe's name written on the nails. The other wiped across Chloe's face, brushing aside tears and snot, "Chloe...you're my best friend. I'm not leaving anymore, but even if I was, I'd never let anything happen to us."

Chloe looked away, "You don't know that."

Max wiped her hand on her pants; it hurt her so much to see Chloe upset, and she felt utterly powerless to do anything to make her feel better. Tomorrow, they were going back to Chloe's house, with all its pictures and sadness, and for all she knew, the next time she spoke to her father, he might say that they were moving to Seattle after all. They had said that Max was staying so that she could be there for Chloe after what happened, but she had failed. Chloe was upset, and she had let her steal and drink until she practically passed out.

_Chloe would have been better off if I had just left after the funeral!_

Filled with such overwhelming hopelessness, Max put her hands over her face and began to cry hard.

"I'm sorry, Max." she heard Chloe's voice say, "I believe you when you say you wouldn't let anything happen to us."

She felt Chloe's arms around her and that helped her calm down enough that she was able to speak again."We are always together, even when we are apart. We are still Max and Chloe. I will always,  **always**  love you." she said softly.

Chloe pulled back enough to look at Max, her eyes seemed more focused now; wide and questioning

"That was what was on the tape," Max whispered, with a sniffle. "The one that I was going to leave for you? I mean...there was more. I don't remember it all, but...that would have been the last thing I said to you; at the very end of it."

Chloe was quiet, her lip quivered slightly, and her eyes remained focused on Max's. Slowly, she reached forward and pulled a long strand of hair away from Max's nose where it had been stuck there by her tears. "Your...hair was stuck on your freckles," she said quietly, putting it behind Max's ear.

Chloe's hand lingered on the side of Max's face, and Max smiled at the warmth and at her touch. Then, Chloe's face moved forward quickly and pressed her lips to Max's. Max's eyes opened wide for a moment and her lips parted in a yelp of surprise. She felt and tasted Chloe's bitter, spicy rum breath in her mouth, and felt Chloe's wet face against her own.

Her eyes closed briefly at the new and pleasant sensation but opened again when it was over seconds later. Chloe pulled back slightly and looked at her with a sudden soberness.

"Um...that...was my first kiss." Chloe said, with a small, shy smile.

Max smiled back, her freckles now barely visible beneath a magenta shade, "Mine too."


	3. Chapter 3

Max closed her eyes and licked her lips, tasting rum and strawberry lip balm.

"Max?"

She blinked and looked up at Chloe. She was twirling her long blonde hair around a finger and looking thoughtful. "When you said you would always love me...what did you mean?"

Max was very much aware of the quiet of the room. "Well," she said softly, though her voice seemed to echo in her head. "I meant...I guess…" Max tentatively reached out and took Chloe's hand - the same one that had Chloe's name on the nails. "Well...I meant that I care about you, Chloe. You're my best friend. You're...kinda my only real friend. When I'm around you, I feel...cool. So...yeah..." She trailed off.

Chloe squeezed Max's hand, "When I'm around you, I feel...I guess...like I don't need anybody else. Because I have you. Ya know?"

Max bit her lower lip and looked down their clasped hands.

Chloe frowned, "Max...I'm worried about what will happen when we go home tomorrow. Mom goes back to work and I go back to Blackwell, and everybody is going to pretend like things aren't different now. But Dad's clothes are still in the closet! I'm not going to act like  **everything** in my life hasn't changed!"

Max was struck by how vulnerable Chloe looked when she was sad or scared. She always admired Chloe's confidence and daring, but the last couple of days had shown Max a side of her she hadn't seen before.

_Maybe deep down, this is who Chloe really is?_

"I'm sorry, Chloe. But... I'm still here, right?" She wrapped her arms around Chloe and hugged her.

Chloe smiled and squeezed Max tightly, "I know, Super Max. That's why I love ya."

The next morning, as Joyce checked out at the front desk, Max and Chloe sat in the same chairs as they did the day before. Periodically, she would turn back to look at them and then shake her head with an exasperated expression.

"I'm glad you get to stay with us for a few more days, Max," Chloe whispered, looking up from the tablet in her lap.

Max smiled and re-tied her ponytail, "Me too. It's good your mom talked to my folks and they said I could stay with you until the end of the week. It means we can ride together to school just like we used to, even though it sucks we aren't going to the same one anymore."

Chloe smirked, "I sort of wish that I didn't get into Blackwell; but at least we can hang out afterwards."

Max found herself smiling as she looked at Chloe's long blonde hair tied back into a messy, hastily-done ponytail still wet from her shower that morning. She watched the way she nibbled her lip and stuck her tongue out as she drew on her tablet, and the way Chloe kept looking up and winking at her every time their eyes met. A butterfly feeling in her stomach started.

"What?" Chloe asked with a grin, "You keep looking at me like I have something on my face."

"Maybe because you do?" Max said slyly, "Maybe you have a huge zit right on your nose!"

Chloe's eyes got wide then crossed to try and see, "I do?" She touched her face, then laughed, "You're so full of it, Caulfield!"

Max stuck her tongue out, and Chloe stuck hers out too.

_I wonder if Chloe will want to kiss again sometime?_

Joyce Price stiffly walked over to where they were sitting and, taking a deep breath, she addressed them both. "I honestly don't know what to do with the both of you! You have some explaining to do when we get to the car!" She said with a measured tone of someone trying to keep their anger in check.

Chloe dutifully stood up, rolling her eyes when she knew her mother wasn't looking, and followed closely behind. Max got to her feet too and walked beside her.

"Whatever she's going on about, don't worry, Max; I'll tell her it was all my fault." Chloe whispered softly to Max, moving over until they were shoulder to shoulder and gently taking Max's hand.

Max gave Chloe's hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze, "No way! We're in this together no matter what!" she whispered.

The two of them slid into the car, and the driver's-side door had barely closed behind Joyce when she spun around in her seat and she shot them a look of impatient irritation. "My  **God** , I just… I don't even know where to start! Do I even ask where you two got a bottle of rum from?" she struggled, trying to find her words.

"Mom, we didn't… " Chloe started to say, before her mother cut her off with a look and she closed her mouth and looked at the floor of the car.

"Chloe…" Joyce began in a tone equal parts frustration, exasperation and resignation, "I am  **so**  sorry for what has happened to us. I know it's going to be tough for a while for both of us, so it doesn't help when you do foolish things."

Chloe hung her head and nodded.

Joyce turned to Max, "Max, honey...where did you two get the alcohol? The hotel said you didn't order it on room service, not that they would have sold booze to a couple of kids anyway."

"It was my idea." Chloe interjected, "Max had nothing to do with it."

Max tried to meet Joyce's gaze, "In one of the big party rooms in the hotel. We...took it."

"Oh girls! It doesn't even matter whose idea this was; it was dumb and if I hadn't made up a story about suddenly remembering about bringing it with me, they might have called the police! I don't want to send Max home, Chloe, because her parents and I agree that it's important for you to have your friend here to support you for a little while longer; but no video games or TV for the next week."

Chloe lay her head on Max's shoulder and moaned. "Fiiine. We're sorry."

"Mmhm, I'll bet you are." Joyce muttered to herself as she started the car.

The rest of the ride back to Chloe's, Max stared at the window, spacing out as Chloe's head rested on her shoulder. She thought that maybe she should call her parents that night as she hadn't talked to them since the funeral, plus she missed them. She wondered what her mother would say if she told her that she had gotten her first kiss, and that it was from Chloe.

_The idea of kissing a boy always made me feel kind of icky and gross. I never even_ _ **thought**_   _about kissing a girl, but with Chloe it felt...right, I guess? Like it just made sense? Chloe and I talk about everything, even stuff I'm not even okay talking to my parents about! We've talked about getting our first kiss...but I guess neither of us felt like it would be with_ _ **each other**_ _!_

_I wonder if Chloe is thinking about this sort of thing too?_

Joyce pulled the car up the driveway and Max saw her pause for a moment before turning off the engine. "We're here, girls." She said simply, "Chloe, go up to your room and get unpacked. You and Max can play for the rest of the day, but make sure to get your school stuff together before you go to bed."

Max heard and felt Chloe let out a sigh, before lifting her head off Max's shoulder, "Yeah, yeah okay."

Max remained next to Chloe as she followed Joyce into the house, her eyes roaming the hallway; the house seemed bigger and quieter than it ever had in the past.

"Come on, Max." Chloe called from halfway up the steps. Max followed her into her room where she closed the door and threw her bag on the floor.

As Max sat on her bed, watching her sort out her clothes and makeup, she was possessed by an artistic urge and reached into her bag to grab a disposable camera she always brought with her. She found a good angle and snapped the picture of Chloe from behind.

"Hope you got my good side." Chloe remarked, tossing her makeup bag by her bed.

"You don't have a bad side " Max said with a smile, winding the camera to the next shot.

"That's something dad would have said." Chloe got to her knees by the closet and smirked at Max.

"Oh, Chloe...I didn't mean…"

"It's fine, Max." Chloe said, undoing her ponytail and shaking her head so her long, blonde hair hung free, "Actually, you're a lot like him."

"I am?" Max asked, surprised. "Your dad was always so...funny and goofy. He always knew just what to say. I'm...well...I'm not like that. I get super shy and nervous all the time, and I never know the right thing to say."

"That's not true!" Chloe said with a firm tone, "You always know just what I need to hear, and you are there for me when I need you. You're the best friend I could ask for, and I hate when you put yourself down!"

Max shrugged, "Thanks, Chlo, but… I'm different when I'm not around you. People at school call me names... they say I'm slow...or dumb because I'm always the last to finish tests and I don't do well on homework. They call me...lesbo and mental because of how I dress and look. And maybe it's true? I want to be alone most of the time, taking pictures and writing. If it weren't for you, I would probably never even leave the house."

"Don't listen to those assholes, Max!" Chloe sat on the bed beside Max and took her hand. "You're Max Caulfield and you're amazing! You're not slow or dumb, and if anybody ever calls you those things when I'm around, I'll kick their teeth in!"

"I'm not amazing, really, or I wouldn't need your help just to pass most classes."

"You  **are**  amazing, Max, and besides...things are kinda the same for me at school."

Max shot her a confused look, "The same way how?"

"Well…" Chloe said, moving closer to Max, "I guess I'm so used to you being around and us doing everything together that it's hard to know who I am when you're not. It's always been 'Max and Chloe'...'Chloe and Max'. Blackwell is awesome and I can pass most of my classes with my eyes closed, but... without Max...I don't really know who Chloe is."

Max smiled, "Chloe is the coolest person I know."

"You must not know many people then." Chloe said with a smirk.

"I already told you I don't."

Chloe laughed, "So, that must mean Chloe is the smartest person you know?"

Max nodded, "Of course."

"And the funnest?"

"Definitely!"

Chloe giggled, "What about...um...the silliest?" She stuck her tongue out and crossed her eyes.

Max laughed, "Duh!"

Chloe lay back on the bed, "The best dancer? The best singer? The best artist?"

Max lay down beside her, "Yes, yes and double yes!"

Chloe turned her head toward Max, "What about the prettiest?"

Max looked at her and Chloe's blue eyes stared at her with a look that told Max that the game was over. "Chloe...can I ask you something?"

Chloe smiled, "Of course. You know you can."

Max could feel the back of her neck growing warm and she rubbed it nervously, "Why...did you kiss me last night?"

Chloe shrugged, but Max saw her eyes look away from hers, "Felt like it, I guess. I was upset and...you made me feel better, so...um...seemed like...it felt right, you know?"

"Oh."

They lay quietly for several minutes, both staring at the ceiling.

Finally, Chloe sat up and said, "I always wondered what my first kiss would be like. We talked about it, remember?"

Max sat up too and nodded, "You said that you read it would feel like a bolt of lightning, or like music playing in your head."

Chloe smirked, "Yeah, and you said that I was weird and that it would probably be like kissing your hand."

They both laughed, but it was nervous laughter.

Finally, Max said, "Did kissing me feel like lightning or music playing your head?"

Chloe shook her head, "No. Did kissing me feel like kissing your hand?"

Max shook her head, "Not really, no."

"Max?"

"Yeah?"

Chloe bit her bottom lip and hesitated for a moment, then quietly asked, "Is it weird for two girls to kiss like we did?"

"I don't think it's weird." Max said with a shrug. "It didn't feel weird when you kissed me."

Chloe looked thoughtful, "No...I guess it didn't feel weird to kiss you either. It felt...good. Really good, actually."

Max nodded, and rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "It did feel really good."

A smile crossed Chloe's face, "Hey, Max, you want to try kissing  **me**  now?"

Max shrugged, her cheeks beginning to burn, "I guess. Um...but what if your mom walks in or something?

Chloe looked toward the door, "I think she's busy on the phone with people. But…" Chloe slid off the bed and turned the lock in the doorknob, "there! Happy now?" She went back over to sit beside Max on the bed.

Max took a deep breath and then let it out slowly as she lifted her eyes to meet Chloe's. As if sensing her hesitation, Chloe took Max's hand and said, "Hey, it's okay if you don't want to. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable or anything."

"No!" Max replied, a lot louder than she expected her voice to sound, "I do! I do want!"

_I really do!_

She lowered her voice to barely above a whisper. "Just...give me a second."

Chloe nodded and closed her eyes, still smiling.

Max took another deep breath and let it out. She looked at Chloe intently, her eyes focusing on her best friend's closed eyes, partially hidden behind a curtain of long blonde hair, her nose with nostrils flaring as she gently breathed in and out of it waiting, her lips shining slightly with her raspberry lip gloss. She felt that same butterfly feeling that she felt earlier in the hotel, but it was stronger now and no amount of swallowing or deep breaths could make it go away.

"Chloe?"

"Yeah?"

"You are."

Chloe opened her eyes again, "Huh?"

Max reached forward and swept a wave of long golden hair behind Chloe's left ear with her curled fingers. She left her hand on the side of Chloe's face and gently leaned forward toward it. As the hot warmth of her face made her ears feel like they had just ignited, Max shyly brushed her lips softly over Chloe's. At the touch of their lips together, Chloe closed her eyes again but Max's were already closed. She parted her lips slightly to answer Chloe, but instead Max moved forward again and gently took Chloe's bottom lip into her mouth. She wasn't sure if this was even what kissing was supposed to be, but Chloe's soft gasp made Max feel that she was on the right track anyway.

In her head, she answered Chloe's question:  _You are, Chloe. You are the prettiest person I know._


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Before I get into the continuation of this story, I want to offer my sincere thanks to everybody who has liked/favourited/followed this. Very special appreciation to those who offered their comments and feedback. My depression, coupled with several very challenging life events over the past 2-3 months, have taken a significant toll on me emotionally to the extent that I probably wouldn't be here except for the support of several close friends. Thank you for your patience.**

" _So things are okay, then?_ "

" _Max? Are you still there?_ "

Max held the phone against her ear, but her attention focused through the glass door into the Price backyard. Chloe was sitting alone on the swing-set that her father had assembled for them years ago. The swing-set that had been their pirate ship once upon a time. And on that one day recently, when things had changed so drastically in Chloe's life.

"Y..yeah, things are fine, dad. School is okay...I got a B+ on a math quiz yesterday." Max said as she watched Chloe swayed side-to-side with every gust of wind and the occasional kick of her foot against the ground. She was staring down at her shoes and wore a look that was unreadable to Max.

" _I hope you're helping out with chores?_ "

"Well, I washed the dishes after supper last night,"

" _How's Chloe doing?_ "

Max looked down at her feet and ran her toes over a scuffed place on the carpet. "She's...fine, I guess. It sucks that we're not going to the same school anymore, but we still do our homework together afterwards."

" _If you work hard and pull your grades up, maybe you can apply for a scholarship at Blackwell next year_."

Max shrugged and looked out the back door; she saw that Chloe had gotten off the swing and was now sitting on the grass, turning over a big orange leaf in her hand. "Yeah... maybe. Um...I'm going to go now, dad. See you tomorrow morning. Tell mom I said hi." she said, then hung up the phone without waiting for an answer.

The past week had been a roller coaster for Max between catching up on school, keeping on top of homework, and the emotions that continued to hang in the air at the Price house. Life for Chloe and her mother seemed to be settling down somewhat, and Max even saw Joyce smile a couple of times - always when she was making dinner for them and Chloe was helping Max with a particularly difficult math or science question. As for Chloe, Max wasn't sure - and perhaps it was just her difficulty reading social cues sometimes - but it seemed to her that Chloe had grown somewhat distant with her as the week progressed and they had both returned to school. At first, Joyce would pick them both up after school, and they would sit in the back seat of her car talking about their day. At some point, Chloe would inch her hand over and gently squeeze Max's hand; Max would smile at her and nod, and then Chloe and her would hold hands the rest of the drive home while they talked. If Joyce noticed during her occasional glances at them in the rear-view, she never said anything. A couple of days earlier, though, Chloe hadn't talked or looked at her when they picked her up. Max had tried to engage her in conversation a couple of times, but Chloe had given her very short, abrupt answers. Chloe also hadn't tried to hold her hand, and Max didn't manage the nerve to start anything herself. To Max, Chloe seemed angry...or upset in some way. Then yesterday, when they had pulled up in the car, Chloe wasn't waiting in the parking lot. Max had texted her to say they were there, but Chloe had simply wrote back:

"Busy with stuff. Will find own way home later."

When Max told Joyce about it, she had said, "Oh really?" and texted Chloe herself. They texted back and forth a few times before Joyce let out a loud sigh of exasperation and pulled out of the parking lot, driving herself and Max home in silence. Max was curious what was going on, but didn't want to pry. Chloe finally walked in the door a few minutes before dinner, and had gone upstairs without saying anything. Max had slowly padded down the hall and was halfway up the stairs when Chloe came out of the washroom. "Hey." Chloe had said simply, giving Max a nod.

"Hey." Max had responded in turn and the two walked down the stairs together. "I think dinner is ready."

"I know." Chloe had replied with a smirk. Nothing more was said about it, and Chloe seemed close to her usual self afterwards, although Max thought she was a lot quieter than normal.

The air outside was crisp with a sharp, cool breeze that made Max zip her jacket up a little higher. She sat down on the grass beside Chloe and waved her hand through the cold, green grass between her legs. "Hey." she said.

Chloe closed her hand around the leaf, watching the pieces crumble and fall to the ground. "Hey, Max." her lips pulled down in a frown, "Talkin' to your folks?"

Max shrugged, "Yeah. They're doing fine, I guess. They rented a house across town a couple of days ago, so...they're just getting unpacked and dad is trying to get his old job back.."

Chloe nodded.

Max frowned and picked up a handful of grass, "So...they said my room is ready there, and...well...dad's picking me up after breakfast tomorrow."

Chloe let out a gentle sigh and pulled her knees up to her chest. "I know." she said simply and looked over at the swingset.

Her face was hidden behind wavy curtains of her long, honey-blonde hair, but Max could see Chloe's shoulders slumped and it gave her a belly ache. She reached out slowly and put a hand on Chloe's shoulder, but Chloe shrugged it off.

"Chloe...we'll still hang out same as always." Max said, "I'll be a bit farther away, but we'll see each other on weekends."

"Mmhm" Chloe mumbled and let out a choked sob.

"I would stay longer if I could, Chloe!" Max put her hand back on Chloe's shoulder; she didn't shrug it off this time.

"I know, Max." She rasped with a sniffle.

Max gently nudged Chloe's shoulder and the blonde girl turned around to face her. Max could see wet streaks on her cheeks and eyes glistening with tears. It broke her up inside to see her best friend like that and she felt a lump begin to form in her throat. "I know, Max." she repeated, "I know that you've got my back." Chloe wiped her eyes with her hands.

"So, what's the matter?" Max asked, her voice a whisper as she held back tears of her own without really knowing why.

Chloe reached up and took Max's hand off her shoulder, holding it in her lap as she let out a sigh. "Do you ever think about death, Max?"

Max shrugged, "Sometimes. I mean...everybody does once in a while, right?"

"I guess. Do you think he suffered...or was it quick?" Chloe whispered as she unsuccessfully tried to hold back her tears.

Max entwined her fingers around the hand that Chloe held, "I don't...I mean...gosh, Chloe. I...I hope he didn't."

Chloe nodded, and, letting go of Max's hand, pulled her hair behind her face. Her eyes were red and puffy, but Max saw the ghost of a smile form on her lips.

"Having you here this past week has been...it's meant a lot, Max. It's helped me forget about stuff and...feel normal again." The smile faded. "Everybody at school keeps treating me weird, and trying to get me to talk about stuff. I've had meetings with counsellors about death, and the Principal asking me if I'm okay, and people hanging out with me like they feel sorry. School feels different than it used to, and not just because you're not there. I feel like...I don't care anymore. I don't care about school...or life...I don't care about anybody or anything."

Max brushed away stray strands of blonde hair that were stuck to Chloe's wet face. "What about me?"

"Why do you think I've been so weird the past few days, Max?"

Max looked away and bit her lip. "Honestly? I was thinking maybe you were tired of me being around all the time." she said barely above a whisper.

"What?" Chloe exclaimed in a mixture of surprise and alarm. Max felt Chloe's hand on her shoulder. She looked up at her again and saw her eyes were glistening with unfallen tears, "Gosh no, Max! I just...I'd see you in the car when mom picked us up...and I'd lay beside you in bed...and…" The tears began to fall down her cheeks again. "I'd hold your hand...and I knew that in a few days...it would be over."

"What would?"

Chloe gestured to her, "This! Waking up with you...going to sleep with you...knowing that you'd be there when I...when I was sad! When you leave tomorrow...it's just going to be me and mom again! And...it hurts my insides to look at you, because I know...that when I go to sleep tomorrow night, you won't be beside me."

Max furrowed her brow, "But...it was like that before, wasn't it? I mean...except for when we had sleepovers and stuff."

Chloe wiped her eyes and nose on her sleeve, "I know, dummy. And I know I'm being super weird now. I just...I feel like, with dad gone, things are going to be different now. And with the new school...you being here is the only thing keeping me from going crazy, Max."

Max smirked, "I think it's too late for me to change that from happening."

Chloe shot her an irritated look, "Max…"

Max frowned, "Sorry. I know you're trying to be serious. Lookit...I like being here with you too, Chloe. It's really cool to wake up next to you every day, and see you after school, and do homework together all the time. Living with you has been fun. It's like we're...like...sisters or something. But not, because…"

"Because if we were sisters we couldn't make out?" Chloe said with a smirk.

Max shoved her, "Ew!"

"Well...I mean...I'm glad we're not, 'cause...I like it."

Max felt a blush begin in her ears. "Well...yeah. I...like it too." She rubbed the back of her neck nervously and ran her fingers through the grass.

Chloe shifted slightly away from Max and looked down at her hands now clasped together in her lap, "Max...if I tell you something, do you promise not to get weirded out?" she said quietly.

Max nodded and gave Chloe a small smile. "Sure, Chloe. You can tell me anything."

She could see that Chloe looked uncomfortable and suddenly shy; it still surprised her a little to see her look unsure of herself despite this past week showing Max a different side of Chloe that she hadn't seen in the years they'd been friends.

"So...um…" Chloe's pale cheeks shone pink to match Max's ears. She suddenly turned to look toward the back of the yard as the sound of a lawnmower from the house behind them started up. "Actually, could we go inside? I'm...uh...getting kind of chilly anyway." Chloe mumbled as her long legs pushed her upright. Max took a few seconds longer to stand up beside her, and they walked together inside the house.

Max expected Chloe to sit down at the kitchen table, but instead she walked past it, and up the stairs with just a quick look back to make sure Max was following behind her. She followed Chloe into her bedroom, where she closed the door behind her.

"Sorry, it was...um...I was getting a bit cold and...yeah." Chloe mumbled, sitting down on the bed and folding her hands in her lap.

Max smiled and weaved between the piles of clothes and junk accumulating on the floor of Chloe's bedroom. It amused her that, despite being so intelligent and organized, Chloe was still a slob. It was probably the only area where Max was better than her. She unzipped her jacket and, with a shrug, hung it up in the cluttered closet.

"So what did you want to tell me?" Max asked with a smile, laying down on the bed she'd shared with Chloe for the past week and kicking her shoes off.

"Well…" Chloe began, remaining sitting on the edge of the bed, "I was going to tell you...sometimes...when I'm in the shower…or...um...at night when I have trouble sleeping..." She trailed off and turned to Max with her eyebrows raised.

"Hmm?" Max gave Chloe a confused look, "I don't…" Recognition suddenly entered her mind and she opened her eyes wide. "Ohhh!" she said sitting up and scooting down to the end of the bed to sit beside Chloe, "So…?"

Chloe tapped her fingers on her leg, "Yeah. So...lately, when I do it, I've been thinking...uh...of you." She looked down at her lap so her hair hung partially in her face, but Max could see her face had turned pink.

"Are you weirded out?"

Max smiled and put her hand over Chloe's, "Wow! Um...I'm not weirded out, no."

Chloe looked slowly up at her face, smiling with relief. She let out a nervous laugh, "Really?"

Max nodded, "Really. I love you, Chloe. And if I did that too...I'd probably think of you."

Chloe's smile grew larger, "I love you too, Max. You really are the best. I'm so sorry for pushing you away these past few days." she wrapped her arms around Max and squeezed her tightly.

Max closed her eyes and was filled with warmth and the smell of Chloe's shampoo as her face buried itself in Chloe's hair. The past week had been such a roller-coaster of emotions for Max; she initially had been at Chloe's to offer comfort and support to her best friend, but she felt like something more had happened between them. It was something new and different than Max had ever felt before, and while she found it confusing and a bit scary, it also felt right to her. She knew that she loved Chloe, but she was pretty sure that it was more than that now.

Chloe pulled back, her face still flushed from before and smirked, "So...you've really never done it before?"

Max rubbed the back of her neck and felt her ears getting hot again, "Does that make me weird or something?"

Chloe shrugged, "I dunno. You've always been weird to me."

Max smirked, "Thanks, dork!"

Chloe smiled and, leaning forward, gave Max's lips a quick kiss. "You're so cute, Max."

"So...um...when you do...um...it, and you think about me...what do you think about?" Max asked, her face feeling completely on fire.

Chloe shrugged, "I dunno...you know...like...us...doing stuff, I guess?" Chloe crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes shifting around nervously.

Max fought an internal battle between her natural curiosity and her innate shyness. Her curiosity won...barely. "Like...what kind of stuff?"

"Well...you know? Like...um...sex stuff, I guess."

"Oh." Max said, looking away.

Chloe sighed, "See? I knew you were going to get weirded out. I'm sorry I brought it up."

The two sat in silence for nearly a minute, Chloe shifting around uncomfortably.

"Chloe?"

"Yeah?"

Max turned to her, her chest rising and falling quickly with her breath, "Um...if you wanted to do stuff...I mean, like...sex stuff with me. I think...I'd be okay with it."

Chloe's eyes got wide as saucers, "Oh! Um...when? Like...now...or?"

Max shrugged with a shy smile on her face. She reached forward and squeezed Chloe's hand with as much confidence as she could will herself to have, although her whole body seemed to tremble with nerves, "I think...yeah. I mean...if you wanted to."

Chloe moved closer to Max on the bed and looked at her nervously, "I want to only if you want to."

Max nodded shakily, "Well...if this is our last night together for a little while, then...it should be special, right?"

Chloe's hand closed around Max's. "I...I guess so."

Another minute of silent stillness followed...then another. Max could hear nothing in the room but the sound of Chloe breathing, and the muffled noise of the lawnmower outside. Her eyes shifted to Chloe, "So...um...when you think about...that...what happens first?"

Chloe looked up slowly and her eyes met Max's. She whispered, "Well...usually...I'm kissing you a bunch. And then…" she trailed off with a shrug.

Max smiled nervously, "So? Um...do we start?"

Chloe tried to smile back, but her eyes showed a different emotion. "Max...are you sure? I don't want to...you know...hurt you."

Max gave her hand a squeeze, "Chloe...I'm sure." and to emphasize her point she leaned in and pressed her lips against Chloe's. Moving apart after a several moments, Max gazed into Chloe's eyes and gave her a small nod, silently giving her permission to continue.

Chloe gently stroked the side of Max's face and motioned with her head toward the bed. Max's cheeks burned as she bit her lower lip and lay down with her head on the pillow.

Her heart was beating out of her chest. She closed her eyes tightly and sucked in her breath as she felt Chloe's hand slowly and shakily slide down over her chest and stomach. She let it out slowly in a gentle sigh as fingers began undoing the button on her jeans.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: As always, thank you for your patience as I work through some real-life BS that keeps me from writing as often as I'd like to. Comments/Likes/Follows are definitely appreciated, and don't go unnoticed or unread.**

It was still dark, the sun rising later as autumn drew on; Chloe's eyes has difficulty adjusting to the miniscule amount of light projected by a street lamp filtering through the closed blinds of her window. It was in this dreamlike, half-asleep haze that Chloe looked beside her to see a sleeping form snoring gently, its fingers inches away from her hip. As she became more awake, the urgency of her need to pee grew more difficult to ignore.

But ignore it she did in order to spend a few extra moments in bed - gazing and examining every detail...of her: the soft brown of her hair, short enough to hang only barely in her eyes - closed now with long eyelashes but ocean-blue when they were open; the scattering of freckles only just visible in the low light across her face that Chloe used to tease her about but which was something inseparable to her now - cute as a child but presently different...far different; long nimble fingers that, hours ago, Chloe had taken in her hand and guided between her legs to places that she alone had previously touched - 'touched' in the same way that Chloe's own hand had - prior to that - found itself touching her friend in ways that made them both smile; ways that made her friend gasp at new feelings she'd never before experienced.

_Hours ago...last night…we did..._

Memories further awakened her mind, awakened her body, awakened those places that were touched...and awakened a now desperate need to race to the washroom or risk an embarrassing accident.

When Chloe returned, she stood in the open doorway of her bedroom statue-still to see that her gently-breathing friend hadn't moved from her spot in the bed that she'd been in a few moments earlier. Chloe smiled as though an unconscious reflex and padded her feet across the floor to slide under the covers. Laying beside her once more, Chloe gently placed her hand over the hand laying next to her and leaned forward to place whisper-soft kisses on the many freckles on the bridge of her friend's nose.

_Max…Max Caulfield…My Max…_

And, in Chloe's mind, she was hers. She always had been, and she always would be.

_I love my Max. I'm IN LOVE with Max. I AM IN LOVE WITH MAX CAULFIELD! MAX...PRICE?_

It didn't matter that she was fourteen-years-old. It didn't matter if people her age didn't date, or if they did, that it wasn't serious. She was sure this wasn't 'puppy love', as her parents would call all of her past crushes; she was sure this wasn't a 'crush'. This was serious...and different from anything else she'd ever felt before.

She was deadly sure that there was nobody in the entire world that she ever could, or ever would need besides Max. She knew this fact with as much certainty that she knew her name was Chloe Elizabeth Price.

_It doesn't matter if everybody stopped existing tomorrow...as long as I could be with Max. My friend. My best friend. My only friend. My...girlfriend, maybe?_

Chloe wasn't sure if it was okay to date another girl, and she was almost certain that girls couldn't get married to each other - at least outside of parts of Europe and maybe Canada, she thought. But she was also 100% positive that marrying Max was what she wanted someday.

_And I'm pretty sure Max wants it too. I think she does, anyway. Doesn't she?_

Chloe made a mental note to ask Max about it after breakfast that morning. She would find some time when her mother wasn't around and…

It was then that she remembered that this wasn't like any other day this past week; this was the day that Max was going home after breakfast.

The realization hit her like a punch to the stomach...or what she imagined it felt like when a guy got kicked in the testicles. She was jerked out of her dreamy state and was rendered fully awake as the adrenaline, the panic and the emotions rolled over her like a tsunami on previously calm waters.

_Nonononononononononono! Not yet!_

She lay back in bed and stared up at the ceiling, blinking away the tears that flowed down her cheeks. She did know this was coming, and she did want to be strong; for Max, and for herself. But she worried that she couldn't be. A part of her whispered in her head that it was too soon...that she wasn't ready to deal with stuff on her own; to be alone with her mother, in a house that suddenly seemed so much bigger, and emptier.

"Stop it, Chloe!" she chastised herself in a harsh whisper, "You knew Max was leaving at the end of the week, so grow the fuck up and be strong! Max doesn't need to see you bawling like a baby all the time! Don't be selfish! You can fucking do this! Grow some lady balls!"

Another voice in her head - a voice that Chloe found loud and scary - suggested that after Max left and had time to think about it, Max would realize what they did together the previous day, or even the entire week, had been a mistake. This voice told Chloe that she had ruined their friendship forever, and that Max didn't want to do those things with her. That Chloe fucked up their friendship because she was a selfish, sex-crazed piece of shit.

_Max is shy...and sensitive...and quiet. Did I force her to kiss me? Did I...could I have...r..raped my best friend?_

Chloe buried her head in her pillow as she hyperventilated.

_No! She would have said something! If she didn't want to...if she didn't feel those things, she would have told me! She would have! Wouldn't she have?_

Once Chloe managed to calm herself down enough to reflect on this thought, she found herself considering, "Maybe it would have been better if Max had just moved to Seattle? Maybe it would have been better if we didn't spend the week together? Maybe it would have been better if we hadn't kissed? If we hadn't done...it yesterday? Maybe it would have been better...if I had died in that car crash too and didn't have to deal with anything ever again?"

Chloe flipped over onto her back again as quietly as she could, and took a deep breath in and out, willing herself - demanding of herself - to stop panicking. She wiped her face with her hands and pulled her hair out of her eyes.

"Enough! This is stupid! I have to be strong!" Chloe thought, taking another deep breath in and out, "You can do this, Chloe! You have to fucking do this! You will..."

Her mind train derailed and her eyes shifted beside her suddenly as Max rolled over in her sleep to face away from Chloe. That motion moved the blanket down off her body; Chloe caught a quick glimpse of the splash of freckles across her chest and the small swells of Max's breasts before she turned to face the closet. Chloe's eyes lingered on Max's back, also covered by a faint sprinkle of freckles, and she felt an ache in her chest that descended down to her pelvic area.

Taking her third deep breath in and out in five minutes, her hand extended over slowly. After lingering a moment above Max's shoulder, she reached down and grabbed the blanket, pulling it up over Max's body to her neck. After a moment longer of watching her sleep, Chloe then herself turned onto her side. She dozed fitfully for several hours until she heard her mother's voice yelling upstairs that breakfast was ready.

Chloe blinked away the memories of that morning and swallowed anxiously. She held her arms tightly across her chest as she stood in the doorway watching her mother talking to Ryan Caulfield outside of their car. She could see Max sitting sullenly in the backseat - her hair tied back in a small ponytail that Chloe had put in earlier that morning when they woke up. Max's expression looked unreadable to Chloe, both due to the distance and through the tint of the back window.

"Maybe she is as sad as I am? Maybe?" Chloe thought numbly to herself.

Chloe held her arms around herself tightly, just as she did when she sat at the breakfast table and refused to eat; just as she did when Max got the phone call that her father was waiting outside; and just as she had been doing watching Max sit in the car for the past few minutes. The pressure around her chest seemed to help regulate her breathing by holding an impending panic attack at bay; Chloe had made a promise to herself that she wouldn't get upset that morning; she would show Max that everything was fine, that it had been a fun week but it was time to go back to normal.

_Normal...what is normal now?_

She knew that this morning would be difficult - she had known about it since midway through the week - but it didn't hit her how difficult until that moment just before sunrise; the moment when the fun of the week ended, and the reality of the rest of her life loomed.

Her eyes roamed over the car, Max's father hugging her mother, and again over Max in the backseat. She saw her look up and forced her arms to unclench enough to lift a hand and wave - forced her face into her best impression of a smile. Max waved back...and Chloe saw her mouth something. It wasn't completely clear through the tint and the distance, but it was as unmistakeable to Chloe as if Max had sent the message through a psychic connection that only they shared.

She mouthed the words back:  _I love you._

Chloe saw Max's dad had already gotten into the driver's seat of the car and heard the engine start up. Casting one more glance at Max was all it took for Chloe to break her own promise.

She quickly turned away and tried to walk casually, but quickly, not even closing the front door behind her. She broke into a run as she hit the stairs and the tears started, and she hadn't yet reached the second floor before her vision was so obscured and her breathing so reduced to gasping sobs that she made it the rest of the way into her room and slammed the door shut on instinct alone. She collapsed on her floor and curled up in a ball, shutting the world out in a wave of loud, sobbing emotion.

_Dad's gone. He's never coming back. It's just mom and me now._

Whenever she was upset, her father would comfort her...and now he couldn't. Whenever she was confused about something going on in her life, her father would be there to let her pick his brain. She missed his hugs, his stupid jokes, his bad cooking, and how he always made her feel good about herself. Chloe could talk to her dad about everything.

_Dad was even the first person I told when I got my period, because mom would have been weird about it._

The more she thought about him, the more she thought about what happened immediately before and immediately afterward. On the day he died, it was meant to be just another day of spending time with Max...with the overshadowing knowledge that Max was moving away in a few days.

_I knew I was going to lose my best friend. We'd still keep in touch, of course, but it obviously wouldn't be the same. We were already going to different schools, and now we were going to be in different cities...different states. So I had one last breakfast with the only friend I'd ever had...one last game of pirates...one final day of being kids._

_And then…_

Max had been there when her mother came home with the police officer; she had cried on Max's shoulder and Max didn't once complain that her shirt was getting wet, or make fun of her for being hysterical. She didn't act awkwardly, or uncomfortable. Chloe remembered that she cried alongside her, just as hard as she did.

_Max loved dad too, I think; she laughed at his dumb jokes even after I got tired of them._

When her parents came to get her, Max had hugged Chloe harder than she'd ever hugged her before. She had told Chloe it was going to be okay, even though she probably knew it wasn't.

_Max went home that night, and the next time I would see her would be at…no...the last time I would see her would be at the funeral._

Chloe heard the sound of her mother's footsteps padding up the stairs and coming to a pause outside her door. She was preparing to will up whatever strength she had left in her to yell out, "Leave me alone!" when she saw the shadow of feet disappear from underneath her door and heard the sound of her going back downstairs.

It had only been a few minutes since Max left, but Chloe missed her in a way that she'd never missed her before. She couldn't count how many times she'd seen Max drive away in her parents' car, and she'd never felt her absence so painfully as she did right then. She certainly hadn't cried after she left; at least not since they were in preschool. She uncurled herself and crawled over toward her closet - toward the side of the room that Max's stuff had been on. She thought maybe Max had forgotten something when she packed to leave that morning; perhaps she missed a shirt, a sock, a headband, or something that Chloe could find. She thought maybe if she could find something of Max's, it would make her feel better and miss her less.

_I'd settle for a pair of her underwear…_

Chloe stuck her tongue out and giggled through her tears at how weird and gross that thought sounded in her head. "Imagine Max coming over sometime and finding me cuddling a pair of her undies!"

She didn't find any clothes that Max had left, but she did find the treasure map on the floor. She folded it up and placed it in a box by her closet. As she tossed it there, she noticed something sticking out and rummaged through it to find a cassette tape.

She sat up and wiped her eyes, then stared at the tape until suddenly recognition dawned on her. "This is the tape that Max recorded for me when she thought she was leaving." Chloe said to herself, "What was that thing that Max said she had recorded about loving me?"

Chloe got to her feet and dug around her shelves until she found her old tape player. After a moment of hesitation, she put the tape in and hit the play button:

_"Hey Chloe, this is Max. I guess I just wanted to leave you one more message. Because I know this was the absolute worst time for me to go. I thought maybe if you heard my voice it could be a little bit like I was there. I don't know, maybe this was a dumb idea. I would give anything to be there with you now. It's so hard, trying to say what I'm thinking. If I could just see you... But we'll be good at it, great at it! We'll write and talk all the time. And then you'll come visit and it'll be like I never left. I mean it, you don't have to worry about anything changing. You're dealing with so much other stuff. You don't deserve any of this. Chloe, listen. Even if I never, even if we're moving for good, we're always together, okay? Even when we're apart. We're still Max and Chloe. I will always, always love you... Goodbye"_

Chloe's hand shook as she hit the 'Stop' button.

_We probably would have kept in touch...and we probably would have talked all the time...and we probably would have visited._

_But what if we didn't? What if dad had died, Max had left and this was the last time I ever heard her voice? What if she had moved to Seattle and forgotten about me?_

Chloe wiped her eyes again, reached onto her bed and grabbed her phone.

"I miss you so much, Max! I wish you didn't leave!" she typed, then after a pause, erased it.

"Hey, Max! Miss me yet?" she typed again, then with a sigh, deleted that too.

Chloe stared at her phone with growing anxiety, trying to come up with the perfect thing to text - something that both expressed how desperately she missed her but also that she was doing okay regardless. Finally, she settled on: "Just wanted to say thanks for keeping me company this week, Max. I love you. Seriously."

She put her phone down and was ten minutes in to distractedly going through the motions of tidying up her room when Chloe heard her phone chirp. A smelly pile of dirty socks fell to the floor and she practically flew from her closet onto the bed and grabbed her phone. When she saw the notification on her phone screen, her mouth and eyes opened wide.

" **Max:**  I miss you, Chloe."

Chloe excitedly texted back her initial message, "I miss you so much, Max! I wish you didn't leave!" and then added, "If you were here, I would totally spend the rest of the day kissing you." before deleting that and just sending the first message.

A few minutes later, Max texted back, "Dad wants me to finish unpacking my room today, and mom is taking me to buy new clothes, but tonight after the folks go to bed, maybe we can video chat? I hope it doesn't sound weird because we just spent a week together, but I miss seeing you're face."

Chloe giggled at that. She paused for a moment, then texted back, "I don't miss *YOUR face!" then added, "But if I have trouble falling asleep tonight, I won't be able to count your freckles until I do. Also sure, a video chat sounds cool tonight. "

"You count my freckles? You're so weird, Chloe ;P "

Chloe smirked, "Weird is relative. I think Einstein said that. Also, your freckles are cute.'

A few minutes went by before the reply came, "You're too fnny! Anyway, I have to go finish my room. Talk 2nite. I love u2, Chloe Price. Seriously. ;)'

Chloe stuck her tongue out and texted back "NO EMOJI!" then lay her phone down and smiled. She gave a quick glance to the pile of dirty socks, then stood up and opened up her bedroom door.

"Mom? Are you home? Can we talk?" She called.


	6. Chapter 6

Max tapped her fingernails anxiously on her desk with one hand while she scribbled notes onto a sheet of white loose-leaf as the teacher at the front explained the symbolism inherent in "The Catcher in the Rye".

A girl sitting in front of her spun around and shot Max an irritated glare. "Do you mind?" she hissed, "I can't concentrate with that noise you're making!"

Her cheeks burning, Max clenched the offending hand into a fist. "Sorry." she said softly, averting her eyes toward the note paper with her cheeks on fire. She saw the girl turn away from her with a shake of her head and muttered something under her breath. Max thought it sounded like maybe "weirdo" or "lesbo"; she was used to being called both.

She was still jotting down notes from the whiteboard when the school bell sounded and everybody else in the class got up to leave. She glanced up and realized she was still less than halfway done, which caused her to groan in frustration.

_Damn it, Max! Why do you have to be so slow at_ _**everything?** _

In resignation, she pulled her camera from her school bag and snapped a quick picture of the board; she then packed up her things quickly and made a beeline for the door. She knew that her parents would tell her that school came first, she should have stayed to finish taking down notes even if it meant staying past the end of the day; even if it meant staying late on the last day of school before Winter Break.

_I'd rather be lectured by them, than disappoint..._ _**her** _ _._

As it was, she was already nearly ten minutes past the final bell by the time she got to her locker, sorted her school-bag, and got her winter coat on. She smirked as she finally managed to pull out her phone and saw she had "1 missed call" and "10 missed texts" - all from the same person:

 **Chloe:**   _So excited for tonight! Going to blast tunes n have our own rave!_

**Chloe:** _Max? You out of class yet?_

**Chloe:** _My classes were totally boring today! I already know all this shit!_

**Chloe:** _Lalalalalalalalalalala! That's the song of Chloe being bored!_

**Chloe:** _Maxine Caulfield!? Where u at?_

**Chloe:** _I told the teach I'm on my period so I could run to the washroom and miss the last fifteen minutes of Chem!_

**Chloe:** _I just tried calling you but you aren't there! Sad Chloe is sad!_

**Chloe:** _You srsly can't still be in class! What r u doing?_

**Chloe:** _Max!_

**Chloe:** _Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaax?_

Max quickly texted back, "Srry! Waz l8 leaving class! I'm super excited for tonight 2!"

Earlier that week, she found out that she would be spending her Winter Break visiting relatives, so she had gotten permission from her parents to spend the weekend before she left with Chloe. When Max had asked, her mother had readily agreed and told her that she was a good friend for wanting to be with Chloe during her first major holiday without her father.

The truth, however, was that the idea of being apart from Chloe for three weeks made Max miserable and kind of nauseous. Since William had died, Max had seen Chloe every weekend without fail; even if it was just the length of time it took to walk her home from school on Friday afternoon.

One time a few weeks earlier, Chloe had shown up outside her window at 2am claiming, "I had this really cool dream about you and I had to tell you about it right away!" Max couldn't remember the details of the dream that Chloe had said after she'd cautiously made her way outside to see her, but she definitely remembered the long, lingering kiss Chloe gave her afterward; she also remembered watching her get on her skateboard and roll down the empty street, while wishing she had her camera to photograph Chloe's silhouette in the street lights.

In addition, Max recalled quite vividly lying in bed afterwards - lingering thoughts of that kiss filling her mind, keeping her awake - and biting hard on her knuckle to muffle herself as her hand worked frantically between her legs.

With her earbuds in, Max hit the play button on her portable CD player and listened to the new mix CD Chloe had given her the previous week as she walked through the front double-doors of the school. Shivering as she moved into the crisp winter afternoon, Max trudged out to the parking lot to wait for her mother's car to arrive. Her eyes widened in surprise as she saw a familiar figure sitting on the low wall at the end of the path. Max yanked her ear buds out. "Chloe! What are you doing here?"

"At the moment, freezing my tits off while I wait for you!" the blonde girl said with a smirk, hopping off the wall clutching her skateboard under one arm. "What took you so long, Max?"

Max shrugged, "I had to...um...honestly it doesn't matter." then added with a frown, "Mom is supposed to pick me up in a few minutes."

"So text her and say you're walking home with Chloe?"

Max nodded and pulled her phone out. "You seriously want to walk me home, even though I'm spending the whole weekend with you?" she said, wearing a blushing smile.

"What can I say? I'm an amazing friend. Maybe I should be a saint?"

Max sent the text to her mother, then slipped her phone back into her pocket. "Yeah right! Chloe Price, Saint of dorks." She grinned and poked Chloe in the side through her oversized grey "Blackwell Academy" hoodie.

Chloe flinched then turned to Max, a sly grin splitting her lips, and said softly, "Hey now! Maybe you should save the fingering for later, Max?"

Max's eyes widened and she felt her face burst into flames. "...Wow!" she stammered.

Chloe laughed until she was doubled over. When she was through, she straightened up again and grasped Max's hand. "Come on, Maximus. Better get you home before you turn into a pumpkin."

Max smiled and gazed at their hands; the warm skin pressing against her palm felt comforting. Though it had been less than a week since she'd seen her, Max was struck by how much she'd missed Chloe.

Chloe noticed her looking and, loosening her grip somewhat, asked, "You don't mind me holding your hand while we walk, do you? Or...would you rather wait until we were further from your school?"

Max shook her head immediately and met Chloe's eyes with defiance, "Definitely, no." She entwined her fingers tightly between Chloe's and moved closer to her so their shoulders were almost touching. Max could feel her face flushing as she and Chloe looked at each other for a few moments before they both began to walk again. Max felt her heart racing, and began to sweat.

_Is this what "being in love" feels like? Does she feel this way about me too? I kinda want to vomit._

Nearly past the fence leading off school grounds, Chloe stopped suddenly and Max felt her hand drop free. She looked up to see what prompted the change, and saw Chloe looking back toward the school; glaring at a small group of girls standing together off the path a short distance from them. Max looked at the sneer growing on Chloe's face, then looked back at them again. "What's the matter?" she asked.

Max saw Chloe's clutch her skateboard tighter against her side, "Those girls are looking at you and laughing."

Max put her hand on Chloe's shoulder. "Come on!" she whispered. "Let's go!"

Max quickly glanced over at the group - they were watching them now and a couple had their hands in front of their mouths, giggling. She took the hand beside her again and gave it a squeeze, "Please, Chloe?"

Chloe looked back at her and her eyes softened. "Fine." She sighed as Max led her forward again.

"Chloe the protector of Arcadia Bay." She giggled.

"Fuck Arcadia Bay. Nobody in this town is worth a damn; except for you, obviously...and I guess mom."

"Guess that means you haven't made any friends at your new school?" Max asked with a slight smirk.

Chloe shot Max a side-eye, 'Puh-leeze! Like I'd want any of them as friends! Most of the guys are jocks or potheads, and the girls are either barbie Cali bitches or straight out of Mean Girls." She paused and then added, "I mean...I guess there's one guy in some of my science courses that isn't completely awful, but…" she trailed off and gave a shrug.

"But what?"

"Well...he keeps hanging around me, and...like...talking to me. It's weird and feels a little stalkerish. I think he might have a thing for me or something." Chloe said with another shrug.

"Oh...really?" Max felt an ache in her belly. "You think...he might _...like_  you? Like... _like_  like you?"

"Maybe. But I'm not into him or anything, don't worry."

"Shut up! I'm...not worried. You can totally...I mean, you can do what you want." Max said, trying to smile in what she hoped was a nonchalant way.

Chloe laughed, "Oh my gosh! You totally are! You, Maxine, are 100% completely peanut butter and strawberry jelly of this guy!"

"Are not! Shut up! Also, stop talking about food; I'm already hungry." Max gave her a shove.

Chloe shoved her back, "Ya-huh! You totally are! Maybe I'll hook up with him over Christmas since you're abandoning me?"

Max's eyes cast downward and her face fell. "I'm not...I mean...that's not fair!"

Chloe stopped walking and put her arm around Max, "Hey... I'm sorry. I didn't mean...I mean... I'm just goofing around, right? I know you're not…and...I wouldn't…"

Max let out a sigh and nodded, softly muttering "Let's get going before mom starts worrying." She starting walking again and Chloe followed beside her, not even trying to take her hand again.

Max kept her eyes facing ahead, on the road, or at her feet; anywhere but at Chloe's face. She wasn't certain what she would do or say at that moment if her eyes met Chloe's.

_Probably cry. Maybe throw up. Dammit, Max, what's the matter with you? Why do things have to be like this?_

It was hard enough to keep stoic around her family, which she had to do to avoid some very uncomfortable questions about what was, in reality, an emotional volcano churning deep inside her. Half the time, Max wanted to shut the world out, lock herself in her room and either scream or bawl. The other half, she wanted somebody - anybody - to hug her tightly and tell her they cared about her. Her mother had told her a couple of years earlier about certain 'changes' that 'young ladies' go through, but it hadn't made much sense at the time. It still didn't make much sense, and lately her thoughts and feelings made her still more confused.

Except when she was around Chloe. When they were together, things just seemed to fit together perfectly for Max.

_Like when how our fingers fit together when we hold hands…_

When they turned the corner to walk up Max's street, she felt Chloe stop. She finally looked at her again and was met with a look of concern. "Look, Max...I'm sorry for being a total dick before. I'm glad we're spending the weekend together before...you know...you going away and stuff."

_Why does she keep bringing it up? Why can't she just shut up?_

She swallowed her frustration and tried to give Chloe a reassuring smile, "I should get home. Mom will bring me by in a little while." She looked down the block at the house her parents were renting. "I'll...see you soon, Chlo."

Chloe smiled at her and put the skateboard down with her foot on top of it. "I promise, we're gonna have so much fun this weekend! And I'm reeeeally sorry again!"

The two remained facing each other for several seconds of awkward silence. Finally, Max bit her lower lip, her face a shade of pink, "Um...I should go I guess, Chloe. But thanks for...you know...walking me home. I...um..." then spun around and quickly walked toward the house before Chloe could answer.

She was nearly at her door before she heard the sound of a skateboard rolling away. She turned back in time to see the long blonde wave of hair going around the corner. Max spent a few seconds staring down the street before going inside.

_If this is what it's supposed to feel like, then being in love is fucking awful!_

Later that evening, Max stood at the end of the Price driveway and felt like a swarm of butterflies were in her stomach, trying to escape through her mouth. She re-tied her hair in a short brown ponytail, sniffed under her arms, and took a deep breath to clear a wave of anxiety growing in her chest.

"I can't think about this being the last time for a month that I'm going to see Chloe." She thought to herself, realizing that not wanting to think about it was actually thinking about it. Max felt a little like she did the day she told Chloe she was moving to Seattle - a mixture of joy at seeing her, while feeling like a blade is hanging over her head.

_Hopefully nobody dies this time._

… _.dammit Max, stop being so dark!_

At the door, she debated between knocking and ringing the doorbell, but didn't have time to do either before the door swung open and a hand grabbed the collar of her sweatshirt.

"Get in, Max!" Chloe said, jerking her inside and slamming the door behind her.

"Chloe! You know I've told you a hundred times to stop slamming that darn door!" came Joyce's raised voice down the hall.

"Sooorry mom!" Chloe said in a mocking tone with a roll of her eyes. Max put her hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle.

Chloe smiled a cheeky grin and gave Max a tight hug. "I'm so glad you're here, Max. This weekend is going to be awesome!"

Chloe's long hair was tied back in a loose, long, scruffy ponytail that barely held her blonde mane back, and Max found her eyes wandering over the face - oily and spotty - now visible. She felt her head start to swim and her belly ached. "Chloe, I…um…."

"You what?" Chloe asked, her finger idly scratching at some acne on her chin.

Max stared at her, trying to find the words.

_Why didn't I ever notice how amazing her eyes were before? I wish I could take a picture of her right now and put it beside my bed so I can stare at it every morning when I get up._

She licked her lips, which suddenly felt dry, and said softly, "I...like you with your hair back."

Chloe reached back and tightened up her ponytail marginally more. "Thanks. My face is breaking out a lot this week, so I thought it might help if my hair didn't touch my face so much. But...I don't think it is. I'm thinking of cutting most of it off actually. Do you think I would look good with shortish hair?"

Max smiled, her face burning, and the words escaped her mouth on their own "You'd look amazing no matter what, Chloe."

Chloe looked behind her, toward the kitchen, then quickly turned back to Max. "Huh...well you don't look so bad yourself, freckles!" she whispered, kissing Max on the corner of her mouth. She lingered for a moment and Max could feel the tip of a tooth against her skin; then pulled back and composed herself again, a satisfied smirk on her face.

"What…" Max started to say, then quickly closed her mouth as Joyce entered the hall.

"Oh, Max! You're here! I'm so glad we get to see you before you and your family go away for the holidays. We were planning a trip this year too, but...well...there's always next year, I suppose." Joyce frowned for a moment, then went over a gave Max a hug. "Anyway, Chloe can take your stuff up to her room and then you two can get washed up for supper."

Chloe rolled her eyes again and smiled at Max, "Yes, let's make Chloe do all the heavy lifting." She reached out her hand and Max reluctantly handed her the small suitcase she'd brought.

After dinner, Max lay prone on Chloe's bed digesting the big meal while "Disturbed" played on Chloe's small stereo. She had originally been blasting it so loud the room shook and Max was close to covering her ears, but a few moments of it blaring had Joyce pounding on the bedroom door screaming to turn it down. As a result, it was now louder than Max would normally listen to music, but not so much that Max could feel the blankets vibrate underneath her.

"Get off the bed and rock out with me, Max!" Chloe yelled and played air guitar as she shook her head to the music until her ponytail came undone and a blue hair tie flew across the room.

Max sat up and smiled at Chloe's antics. The shake of her sweaty mop flying around as she jumped to the heavy metal beat...her manic dance moves...her excited squeals and screeching in time to the guitar crescendos. Everything that Max saw was so undeniably 'Chloe'.

"You're a nut." Max said, swinging her legs around and sliding off the bed. She grabbed her camera out of her bag and managed to snap a picture of Chloe mid-jump. With a smile and a little excitement at all the pictures she was going to take of Chloe that weekend, she slowly began to sway her hips to the music, feeling self-conscious.

_Chloe is so wild...the way she moves, it's like she doesn't care what anybody thinks. I wish I had that confidence. I wish I was tall, and had curvy hips. I wish I could dance. I hate being so plain and flat._

Chloe stopped moving and smiled at Max, her eyes alive with wild enthusiasm, "That's it, Maximus Prime! Move those arms! Shake that ass! Go crazy, Caulfield!"

Max's face burned, but she moved a little quicker and even did a quick air guitar that made Chloe clap her hands and laugh! That made Max laugh too, and by the time the last guitar riff faded away into silence she was moving almost as purposefully and manically to the music as Chloe was.

Before the new song could begin, Chloe raced over and turned off her stereo. "That was awesome!" Chloe said, beaming and out of breath. "I told you tonight would be fun!"

"Yeah. You definitely did." Max said with a nod. She sat back down on the bed and wiped the sweat off her face with her wrist.

"I have it all planned out!" Chloe said, taking Max's hands and sitting beside her.

She leaned in and whispered, "After a short break, the Price-Caulfield rave continues until after midnight when I'm sure mom has gone to bed. Then the afterparty begins!"

"Afterparty?" Max asked, eyebrows raised.

"You'll see. I already know how we're spending tonight." Chloe declared as she slipped another CD in to her stereo and a new blast of guitars and bass began.

The dancing, the air guitars, and the singing along to the music continued for five more songs; Max stopped frequently to take pictures of Chloe's increasingly manic gyrations and "sick poses", and she was fairly certain she had heard a knock on the door at some point several drum solos ago and a yell about going to bed soon.

Finally, after the latest blaring crescendo, Chloe collapsed on the bed beside Max; chest rising and falling rapidly with each gasping breath, hair dripping with sweat, shirts form-fitting and stuck to their bodies. They lay there for a time, the room now silent except for their breathing and thick with the musty smell of their workout. Max felt Chloe's hot, damp hand take hers, and she turned her head and blew her wet bangs away from her eyes; Chloe was looking at her with a tired but admiring smile. "I had no idea you could rock out like that, girl."

Max smiled back, gazing at how Chloe's lips had parted revealing slightly crooked front teeth. "Thanks. You were so...um...well, you rocked out too."

Chloe sat up and went over to her dresser, "I think mom has gone to bed, so are you ready for the afterparty?" She asked, turning back with a devilish smirk.

Max sat up, curious, and saw her reach down into the drawer and come out with a small plastic baggie - like the kind Max's mother would sometimes put snacks or a sandwich in back when she made her lunch for school.

"Mom gave me some money to buy food at school a few days ago, but instead I used it to buy this from a guy at Blackwell." Chloe opened the bag and pulled out a small white object and a lighter. Max was about to ask what it was when the strong smell hit her and she wrinkled her nose up.

"Is that...drugs?"

Chloe smiled, "I figured you can't have a rave without drugs, right? So I bought a joint for us to share!"

"Gosh, Chloe...I don't know." Max said with a frown, rubbing the back of her neck nervously. Max knew people at her high school that smoked marijuana, and she tended to avoid them - although she tended to avoid most other people anyway. Max got a brief flash of several months back when Chloe had stolen that rum bottle at the hotel.

"It'll be fiiiine." Chloe said, opening her bedroom window and sitting beside Max on the bed. "It's just one, and the guy said this stuff is mild. Besides, I've been wanting to try weed for a while...and...I thought it would be fun to do it for the first time together."

Max felt her chest tighten and she stared down at her hands clasped together in her lap. "I should say no." She thought to herself. Her eyes moved over to Chloe's lap, and saw her turning the marijuana cigarette around in her fingers and clicking the lighter.

Her eyes moved up and met her questioning gaze. "Well, Max? You ready for this?"

"I...guess...it...wouldn't be a proper rave...right?" Max said with a shrug.

Chloe's smile showed delight, but Max saw a different look in her eyes: that of relief and worry. Max was fairly certain that if she had said no, Chloe would probably have been disappointed but she wouldn't have gone through with it.

Chloe clenched her jaw resolutely and said, "Okay...here we go. Let's...do this, I guess."

Max had heard stories from school and from her own reading of the effects of marijuana, but except for occasional coughing fits and a weird taste in her mouth when Chloe handed the joint to her, Max didn't feel any different.

"Thanks for doing this with me, Max." Chloe said, taking it back from her.

Max giggled and took Chloe's hand. "I think you're a bad influence on me, Chloe."

"No way! I always knew you were a secret rebel. You just need to admit it to yourself." Chloe said, then blew a faint cloud of smoke into the middle of the room

Max considered that as she watched Chloe lazily stretch her arms over her head. She took the joint back, considered it for a moment, then sucked on it thoughtfully.

"What are you staring at?" Chloe asked, poking Max in the nose.

Max blinked a couple of times, "I...think...I'm...staring at you. Aren't I?" She handed back the nearly-spent joint to Chloe.

Chloe giggle-snorted. "Why are you staring at me? I'm not...like...some kind of staring thing to stare at!"

Max scrunched up her face as she tried to force her brain to express the words. Finally, she said, "I'm staring...because...like...you're so pretty! You're so fucking pretty, Chloe, and...I wish I was so pretty so like you so much. I…yeah."

"Max?"

"Yeah?" Max responded.

"Max?"

"Yeah, I'm here." Max responded again.

Chloe threw the joint out the window, and shuffled over to her stereo. "I want to dance some more."

Max lay back on the bed, grinning for no particular reason, "No...it's...it's late. You're gonna wake your mom. It's shush time!"

Chloe shook her head, "It's okay. I'll...put in something quiet...and slow."

"Quiet." Max repeated from the bed, then put her finger to her lips and said, "Shhhhhh!"

Chloe hit the Play button and seconds later the music started and she turned the volume down so it was just loud enough for them. "Shhh!" Max repeated, pointing at the ceiling. "You'll wake the pigeons!"

Chloe smiled and went over to Max. She took her hand and pulled her to her feet. "Come on, Max." Chloe said, wrapping Max's arms around her waist, "Dance with me."

Max smiled at Chloe as their bodies pressed together and their eyes met. Chloe put her arms around Max's neck and led them in a slow dance to "Nothing Else Matters" by Metallica.

Max wasn't certain if it was the effect of the drugs on her, or the music, or something else entirely, but as her body slowly swayed against Chloe's, she felt as if they existed in a world of their own that night. They weren't in Chloe's house, Joyce wasn't in a room down the hall, and they didn't live in Arcadia Bay. In the dim lamplight of the room, they danced in a separate plane of existence where only she lived and Chloe. They were the only ones there, and the only ones that needed to be there.

"I love dancing with you, Max. You're a great dancer." Chloe softly said, pressing her forehead against Max's. Max felt the sweaty strands of Chloe's hair falling against her face and tickling her nose.

Max opened her mouth to respond, but as her lips parted, her mouth was suddenly being filled with Chloe's tongue as she was kissed with almost animal passion. Max immediately decided that kissing was so much better than anything she had to say and when Chloe pulled back to take a breath, Max moved forward in an equally urgent assault on Chloe's face. She kissed Chloe's chin, her nose, her cheeks and her lips with no clear aim or direction. Many times she ended up with a mouthful of hair, but paid it no mind.

"Thank you." Max whispered when their lips finally parted. She was barely aware that the song had long since ended yet they still continued to dance. She stepped back from Chloe, feeling somewhat foolish; Max bit her sore lower lip dreamily.

Chloe smiled, and slowly brushed stray hair from her face, "I...I think I'm going to shower. Wash off the smell of pot and sweat."

"Oh...okay. I'll...be...here, I guess. Waiting. For you, obviously."

Chloe laughed and peeled her t-shirt off, smiling at Max when she lifted it over her head. "Where else would you go?" She threw it in the general direction of the closet, then unbuttoned her jeans and kicked them off across the room.

"You're...getting undressed in front of me?" She whispered, though she had intended to say it in her head.

Chloe shrugged, "I guess I am." She removed her underwear and threw them in the same direction as her shirt.

"You can shower after me if you want. You kind of stink too, to be honest." then added, "Unless you wanted to shower with me?"

Max's eyes roamed over Chloe and she was dimly aware that she hadn't seen Chloe naked since they were in preschool together. There'd been a lot of changes since then.

"Be back soon." Chloe said with a smirk.

Max nodded, her mouth dry - although she knew that could be the marijuana - and sat on the bed to wait for Chloe's return. With Chloe showering and the music off, the room was quiet for the first time that night. Max looked around at the empty bedroom and was alone with her thoughts. She thought about walking over to go through her overnight bag, but her legs had decided they didn't feel like moving at that moment. Her drug-addled mind kept playing over and over the image of what she had just seen - Chloe so casually baring it all for her - and she began to feel self-conscious.

 _My breasts are nowhere near as developed as Chloe's. Her hair seems to shine even when its dirty. And her face isn't covered in freckles_.

_She's not that much older than me, so why does she look so... Chloe? And I look so…Max?_

When Chloe returned to the room, a thin pirate towel covering her from her chest to her hips, Max immediately looked up at her asked, "Do you think I'm pretty, Chloe?"

Chloe's eyes met hers and she regarded her curiously. "Hmm?" then walked over and sat beside Max on the bed.

Her blonde, tangled mop of hair still dripping water onto the floor and bed behind her, she brushed the oily brown bangs from Max's forehead and kissed the sweaty skin beneath it softly.

"I do think you're pretty." She said in a voice with not a hint of her usual sarcasm and jokes.

"I don't. I hate my face, and I hate my hair. I hate my flat chest. And I definitely hate my freckles." Max said softly, unable to look at Chloe and feeling suddenly so sad that she was close to tears.

Chloe reached down and took both of Max's hands. This made Max look up, and she saw Chloe's face shining with wet streaks, "Max…"

"What?" Max muttered, getting lost in the hypnotic glow of blue eyes reflecting the light of the lamp.

Chloe leaned forward slowly until she was less than an inch from Max's face. Max could feel Chloe's breath against her nose and became aware that it smelled like peppermint toothpaste with a slight hint of weed. After a second of hesitation, Chloe kissed her.

But it wasn't like any kiss they'd ever shared; certainly not like the passionate explosion earlier. It didn't even feel like their previous kisses, focused by enthusiasm, exploration and experimentation.

This wasn't the kiss of a best friend.

As Chloe's lips brushed softly over her parted mouth, her slight overbite hooking for a moment inside of Max's lower lip, Max felt the lightning bolt that Chloe used to joke about her first kiss feeling like...only their first kiss hadn't had it.

But this one did.

In a distant part of Max's mind, one of Chloe's hands had let go of one of hers and now gently stroked the side of her face; the tips of her long fingers pulling Max's head against hers. But there was no force behind them - no force needed to be - as Max was drawn toward her as if by magnets. Chloe kissed her upper lip as Max reciprocated on her lower lip.

_How...what...what's going on...what is this feeling?_

Faint echoes at the back of Max's brain tried to make sense of what her body didn't understand still, but her face seemed to know by instinct. She didn't pass out - she was sure of that - yet when she opened her eyes again it seemed hours later. Yet it couldn't have been, because they were still sitting beside each other on the bed and Chloe still had the towel wrapped around her.

Chloe was looking at her...only it wasn't Chloe. At least, not the Chloe she knew; not the Chloe Price she had grown up with...the Chloe Price who used to play video games with her, and who she trick-or-treated with as an ice cream sandwich one Halloween. This was a Chloe that seemed so familiar, yet felt brand-new somehow.

"Max…" Chloe finally said, breaking her out of her reverie, "You are the most sexy and attractive person I've met in my entire life."

Chloe's hand still rested on the side of her face and Max closed her eyes and leaned into it for a moment like a cat being stroked. Chloe indulged her, and ran her fingers through Max's hair.

When she opened her eyes again, Chloe continued in a whisper, "I want to kiss every freckle on every part of your body."

Max looked at the new, different Chloe that sat beside her. Maybe it was the drugs she had partaken in, or maybe the kiss had awoken a new courage in her, but she had decided what she had to do.

She stood up, Chloe's eyes following her, and said, "I'm...going to have a shower too."

"Okay. There's spare towels in the closet in the bathroom."

"First, Chloe, I want to...um...show you something."

She met Chloe's look of inquiry by pulling off her t-shirt as quickly as she could.

_Fast...like pulling off a Band-Aid._

By the time it was over her head, Max's eyes were tightly closed. She was committed to doing this, and was concerned that if she saw the look on Chloe's face, for good or bad, she might lose her nerve. When she took down her jeans, she thought she heard a gasp from in front of her and nearly stopped there. But Max steeled her resolve and took down the last piece of clothing. Only then did she open her eyes again.

Chloe was smiling at her; Max could feel her eyes moving over her body.

"Is this what...you wanted to show me?" Chloe asked.

Max suddenly felt incredibly ashamed.

_What made me think this was a good idea?_

She held an arm over her chest and crossed her legs. "Do...do you still think I'm...what you said I was? Do you still...want to kiss all my...freckles?"

Chloe nodded and stood up. She stepped toward Max and gently took her hand, pulling her arm down from in front of her chest. Leaning forward, she kissed Max on the side of her nose. "I think you're perfect. I've always thought you were perfect, Max." Chloe whispered.

When Max returned from the shower, all the lights were out but for the glow from Chloe's computer monitor.

"Are you in bed?" She asked unnecessarily to the blonde head visible under the blanket.

"The sun will be up soon so I figured we should try to get a few minutes of sleep at least." Chloe said, turning her head toward Max.

Max nodded, and started making her way over to her overnight bag, then stopped. "Are you...umm...I mean…"

Chloe sat up in bed, letting the sheet and quilt fall down from her body. "Am I what?"

One look at her gave Max her answer. She crawled onto the empty side of the bed and Chloe immediately covered her with the blankets and wrapped her arms around her. Part of her wanted to turn around to see Chloe's face; maybe she would kiss her again like she did before. But the combination of the heavy blanket over her, Chloe's arms around her, and the soft yet firm breasts pressing against her back made Max's brain convince her body that things were just fine the way they were.

"Chloe?" Max whispered.

"Hmm?"

"I don't want to go anywhere for Christmas. I don't want to be away from you."

She felt Chloe's lips gently brush her neck; it sent shivers through her and made her body break out in goosebumps. "I know." She replied.

"Chloe?"

"Yes?"

"Could we stay in bed, like we are now, for the entire weekend?"

A pause. "At some point, one of us is going to have to pee."

Max smiled. "You're silly."

"Anything else, or is it sleeptime?"

Max rolled over to face Chloe, finding herself nose to nose with her. "Chloe?"

Chloe sighed dramatically, but smiled. "S'up?"

"Would you be my girlfriend?"

"Yes, Maxine Caulfield. I will." Chloe said. Max felt Chloe's lips against hers while one of Chloe's hands slid down past her navel.

And for the second time that morning, Max felt lightning.


	7. Chapter 7

Max woke up when a sunbeam slid in through the window and smacked her in the face, announcing the early winter morning. She grimaced and opened her eyes to a throbbing headache, a dry mouth, and a sneaking suspicion that the previous night had been a vivid, pleasant, but ultimately false memory. Then she felt the bed move beside her, caught the reflection of pale skin in the light as Chloe turned over, and the events of the previous night came flooding back in a pleasant wave.   
  
Max stared at her until her chest began to ache. She fought an urge to part her long blonde hair and kiss every inch of skin she saw, from her oily forehead to the scabs on her chin - then cringed internally about how strange that sounded. Max wondered how it was possible to feel so many different things at the same time for one person? She considered, as she always did, why she felt this way?  
  
_When I look at her, I feel like crying, but also laughing and maybe throwing up. Is this love?_  
  
_If not...if it wasn't love that made me smoke weed with Chloe last night, take off my clothes in front of her, and ask her to be my girlfriend, then what else could it have been?_  
  
Her mother certainly wouldn't call it "love," though she reasoned most adults wouldn't. Max was certain that if she were to find out about them, her mother would raise hell. She’d tell her that she was only 13 and she shouldn't be thinking about such things as love and dating. Nevermind, she thought, the whole "dating a girl" thing, and the "dating Chloe" thing.  
  
She didn't even want to think about what her father would say.  
  
Max's eyes lit up as she realized: **she had a girlfriend**. She had asked Chloe to be her girlfriend and Chloe - her best friend - said _yes_.   
  
_Mom used to say how lucky she was to marry her best friend. Maybe I will too?_  
  
Much as she did the previous night on some occasions, Max wished she had her camera with her. She wanted to see if she could capture the serenity of the sleeping beauty beside her…  
  
_Well, I think she's beautiful anyway…_  
  
...and keep a still-life of this moment to remember always. Or at least for the month that Max was away.  
  
_I don't want to go! I don't want to be away from Chloe for a whole month!  
_  
She looked at her sullenly, biting her lower lip to keep the tears that were forming in her eyes from falling.  
  
_Why does love have to feel like this? When we were younger, things were so much simpler. I could play with Chloe and not...ache when we weren't together!_  
  
“Fuck it!” she thought finally and her fingers brushed the blonde hair in front of her aside. She kissed Chloe, lingered momentarily, then nipped Chloe’s lower lip before pulling away. "I love you." Max whispered, smiling.   
  
Chloe let out an unintelligible grumble of protest and weakly pushed Max back, then rolled onto her other side and farted. Max let out a snort of laughter and lay back down with a smile.   


“How romantic.” she giggled to herself, licking her lips and tasting strawberry balm.

  
That smile kept sneaking back onto Max's face over brunch when they finally got out of bed late the next morning as Joyce asked the two of them their plans for the day. "It's a nice day out there; not too cold. A shame you didn't bring your bike, Max. I'd hate for the two of you to spend the whole day indoors."  
  
Max wiped a piece of toast over some remnant egg yolk on her plate and shrugged. "We could always go for a walk or something."  
  
Chloe groaned, "This weekend is supposed to be about chilling out and fun; not going for a hike!" Max felt Chloe nudge her leg under the table.  
  
She rolled her eyes at her and stuck her tongue out. Max giggled and felt that fluttering sensation starting in her gut again.  
  
"Well...I guess if we have to go out, there's that park down the street." Chloe said to her mother, although she continued to look at Max. "It has a skateboard ramp, so I could show Max how awesome I am."  
  
_My girlfriend is awesome...and beautiful._  
  
"You mean what a total dork you are?" Max said.

  
"You two…" Joyce said with a shake of her head and a smile. "Why don't I clear the dishes and you girls can head out for a while. Maybe we'll put the Christmas tree up tonight so Max can help decorate it?"  
  
"Yeah, that'd be great!" Max said, clearing her place setting.  
  
Chloe put a hand on her arm and Max looked at her with a raised eyebrow of inquiry. "What are you doing? Leave the dishes for mom, Max. If we’re going to go out, let's head out."  
  
_She's wearing her hair tied back today in a bun. I wonder if it's because I told her how beautiful it makes her look?_

  
_Gah, what's wrong with me!? Why am I acting like such a spaz?_

  
Joyce smirked, "You know, Chloe; you could stand to be as polite as Max."  
  
Chloe rolled her eyes again, "Yeah, yeah, mom! Come on, Max; let's blow."  
  
Max was zipping her jacket up by the front door when Chloe gave her a shove, "Way to suck up to mom, dummy!"  
  
Max turned back toward the kitchen where Joyce was still washing dishes, then looked back at Chloe. "Sorry. Just trying to be a good guest, I suppose," she said with a shrug.  
  
Chloe let out a sigh and picked at the scab on her chin, "I know, Max. It's not your fault you're such a suck-up. I guess things have been...awkward with mom for the past few weeks. We've sometimes been fighting; well, more than sometimes. We fight about money...and chores...and other stuff. Sometimes...well...not just sometimes, Max, the only time I'm happy is when I'm around you."  
  
Max frowned and brushed her fingers on the back of Chloe’s hand, "I'm sorry to hear that, Chlo. I wish...I really wish I didn't have to go away for a month. I'm really going to miss you."  
  
Chloe nodded and gave Max a small, sad smile which belied the clear pain in her eyes. "Well...um...you'll be back, right? I'm your girlfriend now, right, so you **have** to come back to me!" she said. Then the smile faded, and she added, "After the holidays, you are going to come back...won't you, Max?"  
  
Max nodded emphatically, suddenly being reminded of the tape she had left for Chloe back when she thought she was moving away for good.   
  
_Even when we're apart, we'll always be together…_

  
With a quick look behind her to ensure her mother was still busy in the kitchen, Chloe grabbed Max around the waist. Even after silently giving her permission with a gaze, Max still gasped in surprise as Chloe pulled her closer. With a gentle touch, Chloe reached up and stroked the side of Max's face, brushing some stray hairs out of her eyes and running her fingers over Max's freckled cheek. There was something sure about her touch, yet Chloe’s eyes silently conveyed to Max something desperate and anxious. Max’s breathing quickened in anticipation, her cheeks growing hot at the feel of Chloe's fingers; the scent of egg yolk and table syrup was on Chloe's breath as it tickled the end of Max’s nose in rapid puffs of air.  
  
As Chloe's hand moved down Max's face to cup her chin, Max reached up and took it. Staring at Chloe's long fingers and chewed nails, she closed her eyes and brought the hand up to her face; it smelled of breakfast foods, sweat, and the faint hint of soap. A shiver ran through Max and see felt goosebumps forming on her arms and legs. Her eyes opened again, meeting her girlfriend’s piercing blue eyes that flashed her a longing gaze that Max already knew the meaning behind. The fluttery feeling in her belly moved lower still and Max bit her lower lip as her legs squeezed together reflexively. Once again Chloe reached up and cupped Max's chin with her hand, and this time Max let her guide their faces together as lips finally met lips. Waves of joy repeatedly washed over Max while their lips and tongues danced together in youthful enthusiasm.  


Max felt brief disorientation as reality rushed back to her with the slow separation of Chloe's mouth from hers when their embrace finally ended. Chloe's moist lips shaped themselves into a goofy grin that Max matched.  
  
"Wow…" Max whispered.  
  
"Wow." Chloe repeated, then added, "We...um...should go, I guess. I mean...before mom comes out of the kitchen and sees...you know...."  
  
For half a block, the two moved in silence - Max walking with her hands in her pockets and Chloe slowly rolling along on her skateboard beside her.  
  
_How can we go from making out, to an awkward silence?_  
  
As Max searched for something to say, Chloe broke the silence. "So, last night was pretty rad, huh?"  
  
Max smiled and nodded at her, "Yeah, definitely. My legs are sore from all the jumping around, though."  
  
Chloe looked pensive as she slowly rolled along down the sidewalk. "You definitely have some moves," she said with a smile. "When you get back after Christmas, you and I are going to have to hit some clubs."  
  
Max shrugged in response. "If you want, but I think the slow-dance we did was more my speed."  
  
"We did slow dance, didn't we?" Chloe said, shooting her arms out to steady herself as her board hit a rough patch.  
  
Max took Chloe's hand to help her balance. "Yeah, we did. It was nice...from what I remember, at least."  
  
Chloe let out a snort of laughter. "Holy fuck, we got so high last night."  
  
"Yeah. I...didn't really like not being in full control of what I was doing." Max said.   
  
"You mean like when we gave each other strip shows?" Chloe said, giving Max a knowing smirk.  
  
Max's cheeks caught on fire. "Oh jeez! I really wish we didn't do that."  
  
Chloe shrugged and lifted the skateboard under her arm, while keeping ahold of Max’s hand. "I didn't think it was that big a deal, Max; was it? It's not like we haven't changed in front of each other before. I'm pretty sure we even took baths together when we were little."  
  
"I...guess so," Max replied. "But things are different now, aren't they? We're...different now."  
  
"You mean because we have boobs and pubes?" Chloe said with a smirk.  
  
Max cringed at her bluntness, "Yeah...that. I guess...it's just...I dunno, Chlo. I mean, you're right...I guess it's not that big a deal. But.." Max frowned and, trailing off, looked away.  
  
"No if's, but's or coconuts, Max! Besides…" Chloe squeezed Max's hand, and she turned to look at her. "I'm your girlfriend now, so I'm allowed to see you nude, right?"  
  
Max smiled, "I...suppose."  
  
"In fact…" Chloe added, "since you're my girlfriend, you're allowed to see me nude too. You could even use your camera!"  
  
Max's eyes opened wide. "You perv!" she said with a laugh.   
  
"Only around you, Maxine!" Chloe laughed, then let go of her hand and took off on her skateboard the remaining few yards to the park.  
  
Max chased after her all the way to the small group of skateboard ramps by the basketball court. "You're such a dick!" Max gasped when she finally caught up with Chloe.  
  
"Just shut up and watch," Chloe said, grinning as she ran her board up and down the ramps.   
  
Max sat on the ground and watched her roll around, laughing as she made faces at her and attempted tricks that she missed more often than not.  
  
_This is nice… It's good to see that, somewhere in there, is the same Chloe that I've always known; it's good to know that we can still hang out, and joke around, and...be who we were. Who we used to be, before...who we are now._  
  
Max pulled her camera out of her bag and snapped a picture of Chloe as she stood on top of the ramp and grinned at her. "I hope you got some of me doing some awesome stunts!" Chloe said, propelling herself down the incline and whizzing past Max.  
  
"You mean the one where you fell on your ass?" Max said with a grin.  
  
"Hey, smartass!" Chloe plopped herself beside Max, "Let's see you get on the board, then!"  
  
"Naw...that's okay," Max said, shaking her head with a smile.  
  
"Thought so," Chloe said, smirking.   
  
After a few moments pause, she turned to Max again. "Hey...Max?" she said, picking at the sole of her shoe.  
  
"Yeah?" Max replied.  
  
"I'm happy you're here with me this weekend," Chloe replied, brushing strands of hair from her face.  
  
"Me too, Chlo," Max said.  
  
"Feels nice to be with you." Chloe added, stretching one of her long legs out and nudging Max's knee with the toe of her shoe. She sighed and added, "I actually really miss you when you're not around."  
  
Max nodded and reached out, running her fingers over Chloe's hand on the grass. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I also really miss you when we're not together."  
  
_Especially the last few weeks…_

  
"Can I ask you something, Max?" Chloe continued.  
  
Max nodded.  
  
Chloe chewed her bottom lip for a moment, appearing to consider the question before hesitatingly replying, "Do you feel bad that you...I mean...do you wish you'd have moved to Seattle? Like...back when you were supposed to...um...after dad died?"  
  
Max rolled a blade of grass in her fingers and shook her head. "No...I mean not really, anyway. I guess it would have been kinda cool to live in a big city and all. My folks had said that I'd make new friends and that moving away somewhere else was a part of me starting the next step in my life."  
  
Chloe nodded, looking thoughtful. Max saw her mouth curving downward in a frown, and she moved in close beside her.

 

"But…" she continued. "But...I think now that it was bullshit they were saying just to make me feel better about the move. I don't want new friends, honestly. I don't...really like most people, honestly. And...I don't want to start any new step in my life without you, Chloe."  
  
Chloe smiled and put her arm around Max's shoulders. Max put her head on Chloe's shoulder. Chloe's hand moved up, and she ran her fingers through Max's hair; Max closed her eyes and smiled, goosebumps forming on her arms and the back of her neck again.  
  
"You make me feel safe...so I think that if I'd moved away from you, I'd probably just feel scared all the time," Max said.  
  
"Plus if you're here, it means I can look out for you and keep you out of trouble," Chloe said.  
  
Max's smile grew more substantial, "Yeah right...more like you get me into trouble!" she said.  
  
Chloe kissed the top of Max's head and said, "Now now, Maxi-pad...I don't make you do anything that you don't secretly want to do."  
  
Max thought of all the trouble she and Chloe had gotten into over the years: the spilled wine on the living room carpet, the time she fell out of a tree that Chloe had dared her to climb and nearly broke her arm, the stolen bottle of rum at the hotel, smoking a joint together.  
  
_And, of course, all of the things we’ve done together in Chloe’s bedroom._  
  
All of them had been initiated, or at least suggested, by Chloe… and yet Max had gone along with all of them without much complaint or objection. Was it because - as Chloe said - she secretly wanted to do it? Or was it just because it was Chloe?  
  
_Honestly, if Chloe asked me to dye my hair blue, I'd probably do it!_  
  
"It's getting kind of cold, Max," Chloe said, standing up and wiping grass off her legs and the back of her pants. "Do you want to head home? I'm sure mom won't complain since we did kind of spend some time outdoors."  
  
"Yeah, I think I've also had enough outdoor fun for one day." Max agreed.  
  
"Especially when there's plenty of indoor fun to have back home," Chloe said with a grin.  
  
Max raised an eyebrow and looked at Chloe questioningly.

 

"What?" Chloe said innocently.  
  
They walked back to Chloe's place, the blonde girl holding Max's hand tightly with her skateboard under her other arm. Max felt herself feeling the usual amount of confidence that she always felt being around Chloe. There weren't a lot of people outside, but those that were didn't seem all that interested in two teenage girls holding hands.  
  
_Most people would probably just think we're good friends; Friends that are girls hold hands when they're together, don't they? I'll bet nobody looks at us and thinks "Two lesbians are walking together!"_  
  
As if reading her mind, Chloe turned to Max and asked, "Do you mind me holding your hand?"  
  
Max smiled, "You know I don't, Chlo. I already told you that I like it a lot."  
  
"That's...that's good!" Chloe said with a nervous smile.  
  
Max laughed, "It is good, yes."  
  
Chloe smirked, but her eyes averted from Max's, "Fuck off! I just...don't want anything I do with you to feel uncomfortable, Max." She then added, "Hey, look...I know I can act...the way I do a lot of the times. But…well...are you..."  
  
When she didn't continue, Max asked, "Am I what?"  
  
Chloe paused for several moments, then shrugged. "It...it doesn't matter. Just forget it."  
  
Max bit her lower lip nervously. "Okay?"  
  
Chloe shook her head as she pulled her house key from her pocket, "It's fine, really. I'm just a dumbass."  
  
Following supper, Max and Chloe decorated the tree while Joyce washed dishes in the kitchen. Max reached into a large cardboard box and pulled out a Christmas ball, then placed it gently on one of the branches of the tree. Chloe sighed as she worked at untangling a string of lights. "Every year, dad and I would go out and pick a tree from a farm outside of town. It was, like, a tradition that we did. Just him and I."  
  
Max nodded sadly as she hung another ornament. "I'm sorry, Chloe."  
  
Chloe shrugged and frowned, "Not your fault. It just...sucks, you know? Mom went and got this fake plastic thing this year, and so I guess we have to pretend like it's real. Change...really sucks. Things are different this year."  
  
She finished untangling the lights and began stringing them up on the mantle. "The only thing that's the same this year is you're here." Chloe said, before adding, "Even if you won't be here for Christmas."  
  
"Well…" Max mused, "maybe not. But I'm here now, aren't I?"  
  
Chloe finished sticking the lights up and walked back to the tree. She watched Max for a few seconds, then went over and took her hands. Max looked at her with a smile.   
  
"Yeah, Max. You're here now." Chloe repeated with a quick smile.

  
"So…" Max said, turning back to the tree and straightening some of the branches on the tree, "What were you a dumbass about?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Earlier, I mean." Max replied, "You were saying you were a dumbass, but wouldn't say why. I was just...you know...curious."  
  
Chloe put her hands in her pockets, "Yeah, it...doesn't really matter, Max."  
  
Max frowned, "Oh. I see."  
  
"Don't sulk. I hate it when you sulk," Chloe muttered as she put up the last few ornaments.  
  
Max huffed in frustration and shook her head, "I'm not sulking."  
  
Chloe sighed, then turned to Max; her blue eyes gazing at her with concern. "Fuck...fine! I was just wondering...do you regret any of the stuff we've done?"  
  
Max's eyes quickly looked over at Joyce, still washing dishes in the kitchen, before replying, "You mean...the kissing and stuff...or…"  
  
Chloe shrugged.Like…what I mean is..." She started, then closed her eyes and looked away. "You know what? Just forget it." she whispered, flicking an ornament so it swung and made a soft *tinkle* sound.  
  
"No, I don't regret any of it, Chloe. That's the honest truth." Max said.  
  
Chloe nodded without response, then walked over to the couch and lay down on it. Max followed her over and sat on the arm. Max looked at Chloe critically and asked, "Do you?"  
  
"No." Chloe replied, then added with a shrug, "But sometimes I have this weird feeling like maybe I should."  
  
Max felt like she had gotten slapped in the face. "What? Why?" she asked.

"Girls, do you want to turn on the lights and see how everything looks? I want to get some pictures of you two in front of the tree." Joyce called from the kitchen.

Chloe rolled her eyes at Max and stood up. "Look Max...it's just some shit that I'm dealing with right now. Don't worry about it."

Max watched her go and felt a mixture of anxiety and concern burning at her insides.

The tree looked beautiful when it was lit up, with all the ornaments and tinsel sparkling. Max stood with her arm stiffly around Chloe as Joyce took their picture; the anxiety continuing to grow within Max until she could hardly bear it. Finally, after the last photo was snapped and Max could remove the fake smile from her face, she took Chloe's arm and said, "Can we talk for a few minutes?"

Before Chloe could say anything, Max tugged and dragged her into the garage. When the side door closed behind her, she turned to Chloe. "Tell me what you meant!" She whispered pointedly.

"The hell Max?" Chloe replied, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

Max took a deep breath and swallowed the lump forming in her throat. "Tell me! What did you mean when you said you thought you should regret all the things we did?"

Chloe opened her mouth to respond, then closed it again. She took a deep breath, then finally said, "I meant...I was worried, Max. I **am** worried."

 "Worried about what?" Max asked.

 Chloe let out a sigh and paced away from Max. “Fucking everything.” Max heard her softly mutter, her back turned.

 “Chloe? What the heck is going on?” Max asked, stepping up to her and putting a hand on her shoulder.

 Chloe shook her head, “I really don’t want to talk about it, Max.” she said, her voice tinged with frustration. “Can’t we just...ya know...enjoy the weekend?”

 "Well, I _was_ trying to!” Max replied far harsher than she intended. “Now...now I’m just confused about why you are acting so weird all of a sudden when things were so great earlier!”

Slowly, Chloe turned around. Max saw that her eyes glistened with tears that had already started to fall. She scratched at the scabs on her chin until one begun to slowly bleed. “I’m worried...about you.” Chloe slowly said. “I’m worried that things are changing and everything is going to fuck up...and it’s all going to be my fault.” Chloe leaned against a bunch of shelves on the garage wall and wiped her face with the palms of her hands. “I always ruin everything!”

Max walked up to Chloe and brushed a bunch of blonde hair behind one of her ears. “Oh Chloe...” she sighed sadly.

Chloe took a deep breath and wiped a palm across her face again. “I mean…” she began, “I mean dad is gone, and mom is working all the time, and the Christmas tree is plastic, and school is full of fake assholes, and…” she sighed and looked away.

Max reached out and took Chloe’s hand, but Chloe flinched and let it go again. She bit her lower lip and said, “And?”

Chloe looked up again, her tears had run down her face and tinged red with the blood on her chin. “And everything keeps fucking changing, Max!” Chloe hiccupped. “Even us! We used to be best friends that played Playstation and pirates and shit!”

“You’re still my best friend, Chloe,” Max said with a frown. “You’ll always be my best friend. And we still play Playstation. Heck, we can do that right now if you want! Just...please stop being upset.”

“That’s the problem!” Chloe replied, stepping closer to Max. “I don’t want to do those things with you anymore! I mean...I sometimes do. But most times when I’m with you, I want to...you know…” Chloe motioned upwards with her eyes and crossed her arms across her chest.

“Oh,” Max replied.

“My brain...these feelings...fuck, it drives me crazy!” Chloe said softly. “You’ve been my friend forever, Max...but lately I keep thinking about...you know...kissing you...and touching you all over. Part of me hates myself for it, and wants things to be the way they used to be with us so I don’t have these thoughts anymore.”

“Oh,” Max replied again sullenly. “Well...um...we don’t have to be...you know...girlfriends if you don’t want to be.”

“No!” Chloe suddenly exclaimed, turning around. “That’s the problem! That’s why I’m so worried!”

Max felt confused, concerned and worried. She couldn’t stand seeing Chloe so distraught, but she wasn’t sure what was going on. “Chloe, I...I’m so sorry,” Max said, shaking her head. “I’m so confused!”

“Things are so different now, Max. Everything is changing and I’m worried that...it’s not what you want, Max.”

Max let out a laugh despite herself. “Chloe...I asked _you_ to be **my** girlfriend. Why would I do that if I didn’t want it?”

Chloe shrugged, more tears flowing down her face, becoming red and blotchy, “But what if you change your mind? What if you go away for Christmas and realize that being my girlfriend is a mistake? What if...you hate me for forcing you to kiss and touch each other? What if…”

Max took Chloe’s hands tightly, so she didn’t pull away. She tried to meet her eyes, but Chloe kept looking away and sniffling back her tears. “Chloe...I **want** this! I want all of it!”

Max leaned forward and kissed her lips firmly. She tasted the saltiness of her tears and the coppery tinge of blood. “I want you,” she whispered when their lips parted, then added. “I love you, Chloe. I will always, always love you.”

Max began to cry as well, overwhelmed by the emotion of the moment, and of Chloe’s words. Overwhelmed by the thought that Chloe was so preoccupied with the idea that she would ever feel any differently.

Both of their eyes shot to the door as there was a soft knock and the voice of Chloe’s mother. “Are you girls okay in there? Why are you two in the garage?”

Chloe sniffled, “We should...I guess...go out there before mom has a cow.” She said.

Max nodded, then added, “Thanks...um...for telling me what was going on.”

Chloe smiled, “Thanks for not freaking out. You’re...the best girlfriend ever.”

Max took Chloe’s hand, “Nah.”


	8. Chapter 8

**_A/N: Thank you all for your patience as I worked through some personal issues. I'll try to be more regular with updates! Follow me at OrangeRat81 on Twitter if you like, and as always I appreciate all your comments, and reviews._ **

**_Max_ ** _: "i'll text you every day, I promise. luvu."_

**_Chloe_ ** _: "You better! I already miss u so much! Love u too."_

In Chloe's bedroom, the blinds were down, and the lights were off. "In Bloom" by Nirvana played loud enough to drown out the noise from outside.

**_Max_ ** _: "finally here safe and sound. long drive. super tired. will text tomorrow. nini."_

**_Chloe_ ** _: "Glad you're okay, Max. Sweet dreams. Still miss you lots!"_

Chloe lay in bed and stared up at the ceiling. She felt as if a giant weight had been placed on top of her chest, pressing her down onto the mattress.

**_Max_ ** _: "sorry for txt so late! mom takes my phone away during the day. says I need to spend time with family and not talking to you all the time. i cried last night thinking about you."_

**_Chloe_ ** _: "Your mom takes your phone away? Damn! I like your mom too, but that pisses me off! I cry when I think about it being a whole month until I see you again. I have a picture of us beside my bed and I kiss it before I go to sleep."_

Chloe pulled her arm out from beneath her blankets and grabbed her phone from beside her. The clock on its screen said "1:47 pm" and she let out a loud sigh of frustration. With trepidation, she opened her texting app for the fourth time that hour:

Nothing. No new texts, no new notifications from Facebook, and no new received calls.

**_Max_ ** _: hiiiii dork! I have a picture of you dancing like a loon. It helps but not the same as you being here. or us being together. Love u!_

**_Chloe_ ** _: Well here's another picture I took for you on my phone last night after mom went to bed._

**_Max_ ** _: O.o OMG Chloe!_

Chloe had started pining for Max from the very first second Max's parents' car had turned the corner and out of Chloe's sight. That had been a week ago; seven whole days since Chloe had tearfully hugged her goodbye as she left with her family. Seven whole days since Chloe had last opened her blinds, changed her clothes or showered.

Chloe heard a knock on her bedroom door through the loud music. She got out of bed, wrapping the blanket around her body, and walked over to turn her stereo off.

"Yeah? What is it?" she called irritatedly.

"Chloe? It's your mom!" Joyce said from the other side of the door, "Can I come in?"

"Umm...totally not wearing clothes, mother!" she said with an eye-roll. "What do you want?"

"Chloe, come on! It's been a week since you've been outdoors. I know you're missing Max, but you can't just mope around for the whole month!" Chloe's mother replied.

"I'm not moping!" She said.

"Chloe, I'm going grocery shopping before work. Please at least come for the drive." Her mother responded.

"No thank you," Chloe replied.

"Well, could you at least promise me you'll do something today besides sit in your room? Even just get dressed and go for a walk? It's not healthy to sit indoors in the dark by yourself."

Chloe looked around her room and frowned. "I'll...try, I guess," she said.

"Okay. I love you, Chloe." came the response.

"Mmhm," she mumbled, walking back to her bed.

She picked up her phone from the mattress and checked for any new notifications: nothing.

_Fuck, Max! Why do your parents have to take away your phone?_

She started a new text:

**Hey Max. Your parents probably have your phone still. Not sure if they check your messages. Just sitting in my room and really missing you right now. Can't think straight since you've been gone. Hope you're at least having a good time with your fam. Do you think we can talk on the phone tonight? Even for a couple of minutes? I really miss hearing your voice. I feel lost without you.**

She closed her eyes tightly as she felt tears start to well up.

"Goddammit!" She exclaimed, wiping her eyes with a tissue. "Stop being such a weepy bitch, Chloe!"

Clenching her jaw to stop herself from crying, she sent the message and dropped the phone back into the bed. She supposed it wouldn't be the worst thing for her to go for a drive with her mother. Chloe was about to yell downstairs to wait for her while she threw on some clothes when she heard the garage door open and the car start-up.

"For fuck sakes!" she exclaimed, running her fingers through greasy strands of her hair. Part of her just wanted to go to bed for the rest of the day and wait for Max to message her.

Multiple voices held an argument in her brain:

**_Responsible Chloe_ ** _**:**  You promised mom you'd go out today. If she finds out you stayed in your room again, she'll be disappointed! Plus it will give you an excuse to take a shower and get cleaned up, right?_

**_Frustrated Chloe_ ** _**:**  Fuck mom! She's the one who chooses to work all hours and leaves you home alone all day. She is too broke to do anything over the holiday with you! You don't owe her shit!_

_**Depressed Chloe** :_ _Just go back to bed and spend the day crying into your pillow and touching yourself! You're an oily, pimply, awkward, disgusting loser and nobody wants to see you anyway!_

_**Bored Chloe:**_   _You're going crazy spending so much time indoors! Go outside! Ride your board! Go for a walk! Anything but just lying there like a lump!_

With a sigh and a stretch, she walked over and opened her bedroom door slowly. Peeking her head out, Chloe listened carefully for sounds downstairs.

"Hello? Mom? Are you still home?" She called, then waited for a response.

Despite not hearing anything, she still re-wrapped the blanket tightly around her body before she padded tentatively down the hallway. She waited until she was safely in the washroom before letting it fall in a pile on the hallway floor.

Chloe's hair hung in a mess past her shoulders and touched the top of her chest as she walked naked past the mirror on the medicine cabinet. She looked away sharply, feeling depressed enough as it was without catching a glimpse of herself.

I look like a corpse. A gross corpse with bad posture and weird-shaped boobs. I can't believe I let Max see me nude! I can't believe anybody would want to!

In the shower, Chloe stood under the water and closed her eyes, feeling as it poured down her face. She pressed her forehead against the wall and cringed at the feeling of a pimple bursting between her eyes.

_Three weeks until Max comes back…_

_Twenty-one days…_

_Five-hundred and four hours…_

_Thirty-thousand two-hundred and forty minutes…_

_Damn...I'm such a nerd._

When she was done, she opened the door and shuffled down the hall back to her bedroom.

_I feel gross today..._

She zipped up her jeans and pulled an oversized purple hoodie over her head.

_I don't want to get dressed...I want to go back to bed!_

Chloe brushed her hair unenthusiastically, clenching her teeth in pain at every tangle she hit.

_I wonder what Max would say if I cut my hair all off?_

She trudged downstairs and grabbed her house keys off the kitchen table. As she stuffed them in the pocket of her hoodie, she noticed a crumbled-up pack of cigarettes sitting where her mother's purse usually sat. She picked it up and stared at it with a smirk.

_Mom has been trying to quit for years, but after dad died...I guess she gave up trying?_

_She gave up doing a lot of things that she wanted to do with dad gone?_

_It sucks that mom is probably dealing with all this crap on her own._

There were a couple of cigarettes still inside, and a small blue lighter stuffed beside them. Chloe nibbled her bottom lip in thought, then shoved the pack into her front pocket beside her keys.

Small snowflakes fell lazily from the sky, and a cool gentle wind blew as Chloe left her house and rolled down her front walk on her board. Her eyes scanned the path in front of her for wet patches or ice and seeing none she went a little bit faster. It felt weird to her, being outside for the first time in so many days. The sun seemed too bright, the wind too cold. As she moved quickly down the sidewalk, the cold wind whipped her hair past her face, and she cringed.

Chloe slowed herself down as she reached the park and picked her board up under her arm. She began to feel an ache well up in her stomach and rise to her throat. Her eyes fell on the ramps, and she walked over to the spot on the grass where Max had sat and watched her the week before.

_Why do I hurt so much when you're not here? You're only gone for a month, and I'm fucking going to pieces without you!_

She wandered past the skate ramps, one hand in her pocket and the other clutching the board against her hip. Her eyes moved around, and her ears listened for the sounds of anybody else around her. She wasn't in any mood to deal with other people, and the wind and falling snow made Chloe feel even more irritated.

_There are the swings we took turns jumping off of until that time you landed wrong and twisted your ankle; the jungle gym that we used to pretend was a pirate ship until you said you felt like we were too old to play pirates anymore...until a few months ago anyway._

_Fuck...I have to get out of here!_

She turned back the way she had come and lay her board down on the pavement. As she put her foot down and prepared to push off, the hand in her pocket felt the cigarette pack she'd grabbed off the kitchen table earlier. Chloe pulled it from her pocket and pulled it open: two cigarettes and a small lighter. The same thing that had been in it before.

She flicked a lighter a few times tentatively, then stuck one of the cigarettes in her mouth.

_These things have, like, a crazy amount of carcinogens and smell awful. But apparently, they calm stress?_

She imagined what Max would say if she were there.

_She'd say "Ew, Chloe! Smoking is disgusting and so bad for your health!"_

Chloe sighed. "Dammit, Max...why do you have to be such a Girl Scout?"

"Hey, can I bum a smoke off of you?"

Chloe turned and saw a girl standing behind her, her hands in the pockets of a winter coat that appeared both warm and stylish. Her brown eyes squinted at Chloe, as though trying to see her clearer. "Don't I go to school with you? You're…" she snapped her fingers, "Chloe Price, right?"

Chloe raised an eyebrow and pulled the cigarette from her mouth. "Who wants to know?" she asked suspiciously.

The girl smiled and put her hands up defensively. "Hey, I come in peace! See? No guns, knives or swords!"

Chloe smirked, "I dunno. Those nails look pretty dangerous." she said, then internally chastised herself for being a dork.

The girl winked at her, "I promise not to scratch your eyes out, okay?" then extended a hand and added, "I'm Rachel."

Chloe regarded the extended hand suspiciously for a few moments and slowly pulled her own hand from her pocket and shook it.

"See, Chloe?" Rachel said with a chuckle, "That's not so difficult, is it?"

Chloe shrugged, feeling shy and uncomfortable.

Rachel walked over to a nearby bench and sat down, Chloe finding her eyes scanning the girl when she wasn't looking. If she thought about it enough, she could recall that Rachel was in her English class, sitting at the front whereas Chloe would always sit at the back, as far away from the teacher as possible. Chloe also remembered that she always seemed to be talking to people in the hallways, but never even gave her even a sideways glance.

_Why is this random Barbie Doll suddenly talking to a loser like me?_

"So, is that a no to the smoke bumming question?"

Chloe turned toward Rachel and extended the cigarette down to her. She took it with a smile. "Luckily, I don't have a fear of Chloe germs," she said with an amused expression on her face.

Chloe ran her fingers through her hair, pulling it away from her face. "Um...what?"

"You gave me the one you had in your mouth. The filter end is still…" Rachel squeezed it gently "a little wet, actually."

Chloe's eyes opened wide, and she felt her cheeks growing hot. "Oh...well, did you want another? I have…"

Rachel laughed, "It's fine. Really doesn't bother me that much." She patted the spot on the bench next to her, "Join me?"

Chloe shrugged, "I...kinda would rather head home, actually."

_I'll bet she doesn't hear "no" very much._

"Not even for...a couple of minutes?" She said with a smile and a wink.

Chloe felt herself sit down beside Rachel before her mind even registered that she was doing it. "I guess...for a couple of minutes." She mumbled.

_Her eyes are so… wow._

She extended the lighter to Rachel, who took it with a whispered, "Thanks." and watched as the blonde girl kept her hazel eyes focused on Chloe as she lit the end of it.

She sucked on it thoughtfully, then handed it to Chloe. Chloe took it and stared at it.

"Well, are you going to smoke it, or just stare at it and grin like a retard?" Rachel asked, eyebrow raised.

"I'm not! I mean...um...I am! That is…" Chloe found herself flustered and having difficulty finding the words she wanted to say.

_The fuck, Chloe! What's the matter with you?_

She slowly put the lit cigarette in her mouth and inhaled slowly.

_You can do this, Chloe! Don't be a total doofus!_

"I also might have left it a bit wet." Rachel said with a smirk, her face partially obscured by a thin cloud of smoke. "Hey! we've swapped spit now, it's kind of like we've kissed."

The smoke left Chloe mouth in choking gasp that turned into a coughing fit that continued until Chloe nearly passed out. Rachel hit her on the back a few more times. "Are you okay?" She asked with a nervous laugh.

Chloe choked again, then wiped the tears from her eyes. "Yeah. Fine." She rasped dryly.

"Good. Didn't really feel like calling 911. You don't seem like you're cut out for smoking." Rachel said with a smile, absentmindedly tugging on the blue feather of her earring.

Chloe coughed a couple more times, then defiantly took the cigarette back from Rachel and put it in her mouth. She slowly inhaled again and found she coughed less the second time. She shot a smirk at Rachel.

"Sooooo…" Rachel said, taking the cigarette back. "Chloe…"

Chloe raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I just wanted to...I mean...I'm sorry about your dad and all." Rachel said with a frown. "I heard he died last fall?"

Chloe's jaw clenched, and she looked down at her feet. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay...well...I just was going to say…" Rachel started to say.

Chloe cut her off, "Look, I said I was going to stay for a couple of minutes, and I did." She snapped, then picked up her board and walked away.

"Hey!" She heard from behind her. "You forgot your cigarette pack and lighter!"

"Keep it!" She replied; she was focused on nothing at that moment but trying to get away from the park.

_Away from...her._

She walked home, unable to skateboard safely through the angry tears that filled her eyes.

_Fucking mother, making me go outside when I don't want to!_

_Fucking Chloe, can't even pretend to not act like a retard in front of other people!_

_Fucking prissy barbie bitch! She doesn't know me!_

The anger had faded somewhat by the time Chloe threw her house keys on the table by the door and stomped up the stairs to her room. She slammed her bedroom door, pulled off her hoodie, and collapsed face first on her bed.

_I wonder where Max is right now?_

_I wonder if she's even thinking about me?_

_I wonder if she'll think I'm crazy if I text her again?_

Chloe stood up and put a mix CD into her stereo. It was her favourite mix of 90s rock and metal, but mostly it was loud and helped Chloe think. She lay back on her pillow, staring at a picture of Max and her that they had taken the weekend before she'd gone away. They were both making silly faces, but Max was looking at the camera while she was looking at Max.

Right after that picture, I kissed her on the cheek. She called me a silly dork, and I said "maybe, but I'm your silly dork."

_I miss her face...I miss her ponytail...I miss her eyes and her nose and her freckles._

_I miss her shy kisses. Her lips on my face...down my neck..._

Chloe felt her cheeks begin to heat up, and she bit her bottom lip. She hadn't heard anybody home when she got back, and she definitely knew of something that might help with some of her anxiety and tension. Chloe gazed toward her bedroom door cautiously, and she slid out of bed and muted the volume of her music.

"Mom?" Chloe called. "Hey! Joyce! You here?"

After waiting for over a minute with no response, she closed and locked her bedroom door. She turned her music back up - Eddie was singing about King Jeremy the Wicked - then, with a final glance at her door, Chloe lay on her bed and closed her eyes.

_We did this together before..._

The tips of her fingers slipped past the waistband of her underwear and through the soft hair underneath.

_I wonder if Max has done this while thinking about me?_

She smiled at the thought and began to quicken her ministrations.

_Maybe when Max comes back, we can have another private rave? Only this time, I'll play more slow dances with Max. I wish she would take charge more...just grab me and kiss me? Or push me down on the bed and bite my ear?_

_Or put her hands under my shirt and..._

Chloe quietly moaned and squeezed her legs together tightly around her hand. She was dancing in some quiet part of the Blackwell gymnasium. An arm was wrapped around her waist and lips nuzzled her neck. Teeth scraped against her skin, and lips began to suck and bite.

_I'll end up covered in bruises and hickies, but I won't care! Her eyes say how she feels!_

Except, in Chloe's imagination, the eyes that looked into hers weren't the familiar blue looking at her with shy love that she'd expected; they were hazel and looked at her with lustful angst. Hands that were anything but shy grabbed her backside firmly.

"I want you, Chloe." A sultry voice whispered into her ear, and then they weren't in Blackwell anymore; they were in Chloe's bedroom.

She pushed Chloe down onto her bed and climbed on top of her, her cat-like eyes gazing at her with a hunger that Chloe found a little scary, but also unexpectedly thrilling. Suddenly. Chloe recognized the girl on top of her; she knew those eyes...those pouty lips...the blue feather earring.

Thrust back into reality, Chloe's eyes opened, and she pulled her hand from between her legs.

"What the fuck?" She said aloud to herself.


	9. Chapter 9

"Sad" was putting it mildly for Max.

After a week apart, Max was missing Chloe like crazy but still tried to put on a brave face for her family.

After two weeks apart, that veneer had utterly disintegrated and she no longer even pretended that something wasn't bothering her. She had become sullen, withdrawn and had completely lost the Christmas spirit. She felt guilty about how she was acting since she really was happy to be with her cousins, which made her even more withdrawn and even more sullen.

In short, Max was having a bad time. She even had thoughts of asking her parents if they could send her home early on a bus or something but knew they never would.

_Besides.._ _._ _I_ _would_ _n't want to upset_ _Chloe_ _by being_ _all_ _weepy and depressed around her._

One night, after she had put her phone down following her usual nightly text exchange with Chloe, Max lay back and tears streamed from her eyes. The more she wiped them away, the more they came.

_Is this what having a girlfriend is like?_ _Is this what.._ _._ _love_ _is like_ _? How can_ _one_ _person_ _make me_ _so happy_ _one_ _second,_ _then_ _make me_ _feel_ _so miserable the next?_

_I_ _'m so confused!_ _I_ _wish I could talk to someone._ _._ _but who?_ _I_ _don't want to upset_ _Chloe...and I_ _can't tell my parents!_

Max sat up, wiped her eyes and reached into her suitcase. She pulled out a photo of Chloe that she had hidden on the bottom, underneath her clothes. It was one they had taken together before she had gone.

_Chloe and I_ _made_ _silly_ _faces, but we were both_ _really_ _sad because I was_ _about_ _to leave._

She put her finger over her face, suddenly ashamed at the face she was making, and gazed longingly at Chloe. Max sniffled and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. She wondered what Chloe was doing right at that moment? She wondered what Chloe was thinking about? She wondered if Chloe missed her as much as she missed Chloe?

_I wish I had a long_ _distance_ _plan on my phone. I_ _know_ _how excited_ _she'd_ _be if I called her_ _right now_ _._ _She'd_ _laugh and call me a dork.._ _.then_ _probably_ _say something_ _silly_ _about_ _my freckles._

_Damn,_ _I miss her_ _voice so_ _much_ _!_ _I miss her_ _dumb_ _jokes.._ _._ _her loud music.._ _._ _her goofy smile_ _._ _I_ _.._ _.I miss how she_ _always_ _makes_ _me_ _feel_ _safe when_ _I'm_ _with her._ _I miss how she_ _makes_ _sure_ _I'm_ _never scared.._ _._ _or lonely._

Max buried her face in her pillow and began to cry again.

_If I were brave like Chloe_ _, I'd run away tonight! I'd.._ _._ _I'd hitchhike back to Arcadia Bay!_ _If I were brave like Chloe_ _, I_ _totally would_ _!_

A hand on her shoulder startled her and she looked up to see someone kneeling over her.

"Maxine, are you okay?"

Max wiped her eyes and saw her cousin Candace beside her. Candace was eighteen, and it was her room that Max was staying in.

"Why are you crying?" Candace whispered, a worried expression visible on her face in the dim light, then repeated: "Are you okay?"

Max desperately wanted to tell her cousin why she was upset, but when she opened her mouth to try to put it into words, she found that she couldn't. So instead she simply shook her head and looked down at the picture of her and Chloe sadly.

Her cousin's eyes looked down at the picture too. "Is that you and your friend, Chloe?" Candace asked, moving closer to Max and smiling at her.

_More than that...More than a friend._

Max nodded silently and clenched her jaw to try to stem the flow of tears.

Her cousin put her arm around Max. "Are you upset because you miss her?" She asked.

Max nodded. "I...wish I was with her...instead of here." She replied, her throat feeling dry.

Her cousin hugged her. "Well, I'm glad you're here, Maxine. I don't get to see you very often. But it's normal to miss your friend, right? You probably missed her just as much the last time you visited."

_Maybe_ _.._ _._ _if we were simply_ _friends s_ _till_ _._

Max sighed and shook her head.

Candace smiled at Max. "Maxine, I miss my friends all the time when I'm not around them!"

Max looked at the photo of her and Chloe again, her stomach doing somersaults.

_Even with_ _her eyes_ _crossed and her tongue out, she's_ _still_ _..._

"Candace…?" Max whispered, wrapping her blanket around herself.

_so..._

"Yes, Maxine?" Candace replied.

_beautiful!_

Max closed her eyes and pictured Chloe in her mind, hoping that might boost her courage.

_Her_ _blue_ _eyes…_

_Her_ _long, blonde hair_ _…_

_Her_ _smile_ _…_

_Her_ _lips.._ _._ _smelling_ _like_ _strawberry lip balm_ _…kissing her._

"Can you...keep a secret?" Max whispered.

She opened her eyes to see her cousin was looking at her with curiosity and concern. "Does this secret have to do with why you were crying, and why you've seemed so sad this week?" Candace replied, just as quietly as Max.

Max felt new tears forming. She wiped her wrist over her face, but her nose had begun to run again. Her cousin frowned and grabbed a tissue box from the bedside table, handing it to Max. Max gave her a small smile in thanks and blew her nose, then nodded.

Candace smiled back at Max and rubbed her arm affectionately. "People have been wondering why you've been acting so down, Maxine, because they care about you. But...if it's important to you that it's a secret, I promise I won't tell anybody."

Max wiped her eyes with another Kleenex. "Well…" she began with a sniffle. "It's...about Chloe."

Her cousin nodded. "Okay?"

Max felt her cheeks burning and nervously played with the ball of used tissue in her hand. "It's about Chloe...and me."

"Okay?" Candace repeated. "What about you and Chloe?"

Max took a deep breath and let it out slowly and shakily. "Chloe and me…" She began before trailing off and shaking her head in disappointment at herself.

_Be brave_ _, Max! Be brave like Chloe!_

She looked at her cousin and willed herself to meet her eyes. Tears flowed slowly down Max's cheeks, but she didn't wipe them away this time. "Chloe and me...are girlfriends." She whispered. "I love Chloe more than a friend."

The relief of finally putting her feelings into spoken words for the first time, combined with the release of finally sharing it with someone else, magnified Max's feelings of longing for Chloe and she broke down into tearful sobs. Her cousin put her arms around her and rubbed her back gently.

"I miss her Candace! I miss her so much!" Max croaked.

"I don't doubt it for a second." her cousin said with a sad smile.

"Do you...think it's weird?" Max sniffled, wiping her face with a handful of tissue. "I mean...is it okay that I'm...you know...a lesbo and stuff?"

Candace ruffled Max's hair. "Whether you are a lesbian or not doesn't affect who a person is, Maxine."

Max frowned. "But...like...I'm worried that mom and dad won't let me see Chloe anymore if they know that we're...you know...dating now?"

"Well…" Candace replied thoughtfully, "I maybe wouldn't mention the D-word around them. My parents didn't let me start serious dating until I was a senior."

Max shrugged, "I'm almost 14."

Candace smiled, "Well, in any case, just keep that part quiet for a while, maybe." She said, then added, "Well...this definitely explains why you've been so down. Love is strange, and it makes us feel strange things sometimes."

Max nodded. "I feel like my body is full of butterflies when I think about her. Right before I went away we decided to be...you know. And now...I'm here and...I...I miss her so much, it hurts my insides."

"Well, you're going back in a couple of weeks, right?"

"It's going to feel like a couple of years, I know it!" Max said, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes. "Maybe if I could talk to her I'd feel better, but I can't call her because I don't have long distance on my phone!"

Candace yawned and walked back to her bed. "Tell you what, Maxine?" She said sleepily. "Why don't we hit the hay for now, and tomorrow night when everyone else goes to bed, I'll let you use my phone to call her?"

Max's eyes lit up, "Really? That would be so awesome! You're the best!"

"Yep, I'm a regular angel of mercy. Now, how about you get some sleep, Maxine?" Candace said with another yawn.

"Oh, okay. But...um... Candace?"

"Mmm?"

"Do you still promise you'll keep...you know...what I told you a secret?" Max whispered.

"Cross my heart. Now sleep!" Candace replied, throwing a pillow at Max.

The following day Max was in a much better mood. Her mother even mentioned to her that she was glad to see Max smiling again. Max simply replied that she was trying to be more positive, but of course, the truth was the knowledge that she'd get to hear Chloe's voice for the first time in more than two weeks.

It made her feel even better when she got her phone that evening and found a text from Chloe waiting for her:

 **Chloe** :  _Hey Max. Your parents_ _probably have_ _your_ _phone_ _still. Not sure if they check your messages._ _Just sitting in my room and really missing you right now._ _Can't_ _think_ _straight since_ _you've been gone_ _. Hope you're at least having a good time with your_ _fam_ _. Do you_ _think_ _we can talk on the_ _phone_ _tonight? Even for_ _a couple of_ _minutes? I_ _really_ _miss hearing your voice. I_ _feel_ _lost without you._

Max texted back:

_hey_ _u_ _!_ _have_ _some amazeballs_ _news! my cousin is letting me use her_ _phone_ _to call_ _u_ _4 a few_ _mins_ _! I hope_ _u_ _r_ _around_ _nao_ _._

She was startled by a notification mere seconds later:

Chloe:  _Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!_ _!_ _1 That is_ _totally_ _I mean I can't even say how happy I am to get to_ _hear_ _your voice! I_ _'ve_ _been so miserable without you, Max!_

Max smiled and took a deep breath.

_Hold it together, Max! You don't want to upset her by being_ _all_ _needy and stuff!_ _Just_ _play it_ _cool_ _!_

_Who am I kidding? I_ _would_ _n't_ _know_ _what "_ _cool_ _" was if it punched me in the face!_

She picked up her cousin's phone and stared at it worriedly.

"Do you want me to...umm...leave for a bit?"

Max turned around and bit her bottom lip for a moment, then tried to smile. "Well...it's your room, so…"

Candace nodded with a smirk, "I'll just...I'll go. Yeah." She said as she sidling over to the door.

Meanwhile, Max looked down at the phone with Chloe's number punched into the display. She took another deep breath.

_You can do this, Max!_

She hit the send button, then squeezed her eyes closed tightly.

_Maybe_ _she won't answer_

**_RING_ _..._ **

_What if she doesn't really want to talk to me after all?_

**_RING_ _..._ **

_What if_ _…_

"Max?"

Max swallowed hard and tried sniffle back her tears. "H...hey, Chlo! It's...yeah, it's me."

"Shit, hold on! Let me...lemme close the...okay...hello? still there? Hey, Max! It's...good to hear your voice. It feels like…wow...like..."

"Forever?" Max finished for her.

"Yeah...it feels...I mean...I keep thinking that, like...gosh...wow, I sound like a total, babbling dork, huh?"

Max wiped her eyes and laughed. "Yeah. You really do. But that's...I've...really missed that. Like…a lot." She paused, then added. "I've missed you a lot too. I...miss you, Chloe."

There was a pause and Max heard Chloe sniffle. "I miss you too! I miss you so much, Max. Like...a retarded amount, I miss you! It's...it's been…oh my gosh, why the fuck is this so hard, Max? You've gone away to summer camp! Dad took me on a road trip to the Grand Canyon that summer when I was in grade 4! We've been apart before and it's never been like this!"

Max nodded. "I know. I just feel...I don't know what I feel. Something feels...like it's missing inside of me."

There was a pause. "I know. I'm totally missing you inside me," Chloe replied with a sniffle.

Max opened her eyes wide. "Jeez, Chloe!"

Chloe laugh-coughed. "No, no, you weirdo! I mean...like...you not being in Arcadia Bay is making me feel...empty. Not like before when I missed you. Now it feels like...I dunno...it feels like...maybe..."

"Maybe what?" Max replied.

"It feels like...maybe you aren't going to come back? It feels like...what if you were meant to move away after dad died, but you didn't? And now...maybe…"

"That's crazy! I'm totally coming back!" Max responded louder than she intended to; as though she was saying it to herself as well.

"In less than two weeks, I'm coming back, Chloe, and we'll see each other again! We'll be...we'll be together again!"

She heard Chloe sniffling through the phone, then the hiccups of her restrained sobs. "But…" Chloe rasped after a few moments, so quietly that Max had to strain to hear her. "But...what...what if you don't, Max? I just keep worrying, like...what if you don't? I didn't...I don't think I can deal without…Gah, I'm sorry, Max! I'm being so fucking crazy right now! I probably sound like a lunatic!"

Max wiped her eyes with her sheets. "Chloe Price, listen to me! I don't care if I have to run away and live in your basement! I'm never, never,  **ever**  leaving you!"

There was a pause, then, "But...Max?"

"Yeah, Chloe?" She replied.

"I don't have a basement," Chloe said.

Max cast a quick glance at the bedroom door as she heard a soft knock, then turned back and lowered her voice until she was whispering. "Umm...Chloe? Gosh...I...I have to go now, Chloe! I'll see you soon!"

She heard Chloe sigh. "Oh really? I...I understand I guess." then quickly yelled, "Wait!" before lowering her voice again, "Um...Max?

"Yeah? Yeah, Chlo?"

There was a pause, and Max was starting to wonder if she had disconnected.

"Max...I...um...I love you, Max, okay? And... and I'm glad I'm your girlfriend! I just...I just wanted you...to know, okay?"

Max smiled. "I'm glad too, Chlo. Super glad! And...um...I love you too. I...yeah, I love you. So, so much. Umm...bye."

Max disconnected the call and put the phone beside her on the bed. She stared down at her feet and took a deep breath.

"You can come in now," Max said to the door.

Slowly, the door opened and Max's cousin stuck her head in. "Is everything okay, Maxine? How did...everything go with...you know?"

Max wiped her face with the back of her wrist. "It...went good, I guess. The next few days are going to be super hard, but I'm glad Chloe and I could talk tonight. It really helped me feel better."

"I'm glad too, sweetie," Candace said, putting her hand on Max's shoulder. "So, are you ready for bed now?"

"Yeah, I guess," Max said, laying back on her bed and pulling the sheets up over her. "Candace?" Max asked.

Her cousin turned from getting into bed, "Yeah?"

Max stared down at her sheets and played with the material between her fingers. "You...haven't heard anything about mom or dad talking about...you know...staying here, or...um...not moving back to Arcadia Bay, have you?"

Candace gave Max a confused look. "No...no, I haven't. Did they say to you that you weren't going back?"

"No. I mean, I don't think so." Max replied. "But, to be honest, I haven't really been paying attention to much lately."

"I see," Candace said. "Maxine, what would make you think they wouldn't be going back?"

Max told her about her father's job offer in Seattle, and how they were all set to move away until Chloe's father was killed. "They said they were staying because of what happened to Chloe's father, but it's been a while since it happened and...I guess I'm just scared they might decide to move after all."

Candace listened and nodded as Max talked to her. When Max finished, Candace got off the bed and sat on the floor beside Max. "Maxine, have you ever...you know...told your parents how you feel?"

"You mean, about me and Chloe? You know I haven't!" Max exclaimed.

Candace shook her head, "No, not about that...although it might not be a bad idea to tell them pretty soon now that I know more about what's going on. I mean, have you told them that you don't want them to consider moving away again?"

Max sullenly shrugged, then shook her head. "When we were supposed to move to Seattle, I told dad that I didn't want to move...and how I didn't want to leave my house and my school...and I didn't want to leave Chloe behind. He...just said that change was good and that I'd like the big city, and all the art and music, and how we'd go to Seahawks and Mariners games together. He said that I'd make new friends, and this was just the next stage in my life. The...day that we were supposed to leave was the day of Chloe's dad's funeral."

Candace frowned, "I see. That...really sucks what happened to your...to Chloe."

Max nodded, "Yeah. I prayed to God that I didn't have to leave and for dad to change his mind. I thought...maybe this was His answer? Like how we learned in Sunday School that the Hebrews weren't allowed to leave Egypt, so God killed all the Egyptian children to make Pharoah let them go. If that's true, then God is a real asshole."

Candace laughed, "I...don't think any of those things actually happened."

"Neither do I." Max said softly, then added, "He just...didn't understand, I guess. He said I'd make lots of new friends, and it'd be good not to just be around the same one all the time. I...I don't think my parents like Chloe very much. She was always getting me into trouble, and I got hurt real bad a couple of times when we played together. But she's smart so...she helped me with math and science and stuff and they liked that. Anyway, we used to play together every day when we were little...less often when we got older, but we still used to hang out at school and most weekends. She said most people were fake losers and barbies, but that I was the only real person she knew. She said I was cool...even though I don't think I'm cool. Everybody used to make fun of my freckles, but she said they were neat...that I was neat. Chloe's so tall and smart, she's so outgoing and confident, she's so..." Max averted her eyes. "...so pretty. She could have tons of friends if she wanted to...she could probably have a boyfriend if she wanted to. She could be anything she wanted to be...she could do anything she wanted to do. Chloe is...amazing. I don't know why she wants to hang out with me...or be with me in...um...the gay way."

Candace listened to Max and smiled. "You know something? I love you because you're my cousin, but your shyness and putting yourself down all the time makes want to punch you. You're a great person, Maxine...you're honest and kind, and I've seen all the amazing pictures you take with your camera. You're an amazing and talented young woman. I also see how much you open up when you're talking about Chloe. Your eyes get a different look to them, and you show real emotion. Even if you didn't tell me, it's easy to see that you really do love her, don't you?"

Max nodded without hesitation. "I've always loved Chloe. I will always love her."

Candace nodded back. "And you'd do anything for her, wouldn't you?"

Max smiled. "Anything," she repeated.

Candace pat her shoulder, "Then I'm going to dare you to do something that might be a bit difficult for you, but if you love Chloe and would do anything for her, then you'll do it."

Max creased her brow in interest and concern, "What...what's that?"

Candace smiled, "If not tomorrow, then sometime within the next week, I want you to sit down with your parents and tell them that you 100% don't want to leave Arcadia Bay anytime soon. That you want to stay in that town, at that school, and not move. For double points, I also dare you to tell them how you feel about Chloe." She sat back and crossed her arms with a satisfied grin.

Max's expression changed from confusion to horror, to apprehension. "Tell...tell them that…? um...but you said…"

"I said you are an honest, and amazing young woman, Maxine. And that means you can have the confidence to tell your parents how you feel. You can have the confidence to tell your parents what you really want. They may not even be planning to move away again...or maybe they are? They may listen to you and consider your opinion...or maybe it won't make any difference! But I'm willing to bet that Chloe isn't the only one of you two that can be confident and outgoing when you want something enough. What do you want, Maxine?"

Max looked her cousin in the eyes and as confidently as she could, she said. "I want Chloe."


End file.
